Load
by Klyn Farseer
Summary: When a player realizes they've missed events and are on their way to a substandard end, they tend to go back to trigger whatever flags they missed. When given the chance, Kirigaya Kazuto is no different. Pairing will be Kirito/Multi, because There is but One Ultimate Way was written, whether it's canon or not.
1. Chapter 1

Kirito explored through darkness to the music of a consistent beeping. It was an ominous noise, foreshadowing dangerous boss battles ahead. The lack of light in the dungeon was a greater hindrance than he would like to admit, especially because he hadn't felt the need to buy candles or anything of the like before venturing in.

And yet... he couldn't put his mind on when he'd set out for the dungeon. As a solo player he had to prepare more than most before leaving a safe zone. At times it seemed like his checklists had checklists. And yet he'd forgotten to buy a single candle.

Kirito's head snapped to attention. What else had he forgotten? The beeping was increasing in sound and frequency now. Alert for danger he raised his right hand to check his inventory. And raised it a second time. And a third time.

'A new kind of trap?' The thought briefly crossed his mind. With no other option and prepared for an attack he reached to grab his sword.

Only to receive a handful of air. "What the..." A noise, a stuttering of footsteps rang out to his left.

The beeping was almost painfully loud now. Each beat was pounding in his ears, leaving an odd feeling as it rang through his body. Shaking his head to clear it he turned toward the footsteps he'd heard and ran toward them. If he was already in a trap the fastest way out would be to let it play through.

And yet, as he followed the footsteps he didn't feel apprehension. His refined sense of self-preservation did not tell him to turn around.

"And why would it?" A voice called out to him, coming from the direction he was facing. Kirito slowed his jog to a walk before stopping altogether in front of what looked like a person, if their vaguely defined outline was something to go off of.

"In a sense, I could be called a person. A very loose sense. However, I have not called you here to discuss my life. Rather, you are here so that we may discuss yours, and the actions you have chosen."

"My choices? You called me here?" Kirito attempted to squint and get a better look at the being with the androgynous voice, but no details were forthcoming.

"Indeed." The voice echoed around the room like music, almost drowning out the beeping, and certainly making the sound more bearable. "To be honest, I took something of an interest in you a few years ago, for a completely different reason than why I'm interested in you now."

"When you say it like that... it sounds pretty disturbing."

"It should be," the matter of fact tone clear. "However, what I find disturbing is how you managed to 'win' the game you were playing."

"Game?" As the word left his mouth memories flooded back. The Seventy-Fifth floor, his duel with Kayaba, his death. "I died?"

The voice sounded displeased. "Yes and no. And that brings me to why you're here. Let me set things straight to begin with. I am not a benevolent God. I am not a sympathetic Demon. I am not here to make your life wonderful, and you will not be receiving three wishes. With that out of the way, I did not enjoy your victory in the game."

"You didn't enjoy it?" Kirito stated blankly. "You didn't _enjoy_ it?! I died, Asuna died, thousands of people died and you didn't _enjoy it_?!"

A pressure seemed to weigh upon Kirito. "No. I did not enjoy it in the slightest. You, quite honestly, seemed to do about the worst you could do in the game and still win. Of all the people you met the only ones that survived were the ones you abandoned and your shopkeepers. So I called you here to offer you a chance, so to speak.

"You won your game. That is commendable, and required a great deal of skill. However, as I said earlier, I took notice of you a while before your game began, and when I did I made something of, in your terms, a save point. It has one use." The pressure seemed to lift off of Kirito. "As I said, I'm not going to go out of my way to make your life easier. If you choose to take my offer, don't expect to receive any more help."

"If I choose? It's that or die isn't it?"

"Not quite. You didn't fully die. If you so choose you'll wake up in a hospital bed. Asuna will remain in a coma, and as you are now there a dozen different roads to failure in what you'll do next, and one very narrow path to victory."

Kirito sighed. "I don't like that safety margin. But if I go back, that's like starting a new playthrough in an old game. I know what path the storyline will take, where the traps are."

"For a while," the voice advised. "The Cardinals did adapt the game periodically. The game could end up completely differently."

Kirito shook his head. "Even if it does, I'll still have an advantage. In this game, I was known as a beater. The beater to some. I'll embrace that. And this time, I won't just survive this game. I'll defeat it. I'll make it so the game is desperately trying to survive me."

"If that is your choice," the voice seemed to shrug as it lifted a hand.

Kirito took it and gave it a firm shake. "There's no option of doubting it."

In a hospital room the heart monitor hooked up to the room's resident flatlined.

* * *

"Onii-chan! Are you awake yet?" Kirito- no, Kirigaya sat up in his bed at the sound of his sister's voice outside of his door.

"Ha... haha!" The dark haired boy gave a small laugh before jumping out of bed. He stood still for a moment's time, just long enough to take in the(admittedly somewhat putrid) smell of his room. It had been years since he'd had the chance to enjoy the other world.

In the next moment he was running out of his door, grabbing Suguha in a hug on her way towards the stairs. "Imouto! Good morning!" Just as suddenly as he had grabbed her he let go and jumped down the stairs, taking them three or four at a time. His voice echoed back up the stairwell as he shouted a similar greeting to his Mother.

"I wonder what he's so excited about?" Suguha wondered aloud when she heard her brother begin whistling a tune she was unfamiliar with. Her next thought broke the wonder. "Right, the game."

When her brother had been chosen as one of the Betas for Sword Art Online he had been ecstatic. So ecstatic that hardly anyone had seen him for the entire month. With the game coming out in stores the next day it was unlikely anything else would be on his mind.

As Suguha made her way down the stairs at a leisurely pace she couldn't help but lament a bit over the distance her Brother was putting between them. It hadn't taken her long to notice what he was doing. It was only on days like this that he forgot to put her at a distance, and even that was in complete contrast to the closeness they'd once had.

With a sigh her thoughts turned further inward. 'Why does he see so much in those games of his? Maybe...'

* * *

It was only once Kirigaya was on his third cup of orange juice that he realized he was really in the past, and after his second helping of eggs he started to think what he could do.

'I'm in the past, before SAO's launch. Could I stop the release? No, it's too late for that, and with all the hype no one's going to listen to a single beta. Call people I know and find some way to stop them from getting the game? No, we never exchanged IRL information. Just not log in? I'm not going to beat the game like that...'

"You're in quite a good mood this morning," his Mother stated from around the table. "Are you looking forward to the game that much?"

"Something like that," he muttered. 'Wait, at the beginning... People died before Kayaba showed up, didn't they? Something about... Removing the equipment! How to get people to not do that... If it were in the game I could just post a public message. How do you do that here? Right, reviews. It's not perfect, but if I can get something out there, saying it's unsafe to remove Nerve Gear while it's in use, that might save a couple of people... Heh, I might be able to actually win this time around.'

"Onii-chan? Why're you so interested in that game?"

And now he needed to not go on a rant that convinced his family he thought he was a time traveler, go on a rant listing all the people he'd seen die, or yell at his cousin for asking a question. Luckily explaining things without terrifying people had been pretty required on the higher levels of SAO, once he started scouting dungeons and sending the information around.

"Well," he started off with, to buy a little time, "the Virtual Reality aspect is pretty intense. I've played other VR games before, but none of them were on the same level. In Sword Art you can feel each blade of grass beneath your toes, you can breath in air fresher than any you'll find around here, when you're fighting you can feel the weight of the blade and there's the people I suppose. See, even during the Beta there were a thousand people playing at once, on top of all the NPCs. People from all walks of life were there, bankers, police officers, even some people who made money through less legitimate means.

"You throw all of those people in one place and you get this sense of community. Sometimes you work together to take down a powerful boss, other times you're running from bandits trying to take your money. You have actual people running stores in game, trying to make a living. It can be a great place for social interaction."

His sister gave him a look that he couldn't quite place. "You really like that game, huh? How long do you think you'll be playing it for?"

He felt a brief stab of guilt at forgetting his family. "It'll probably keep me occupied for a really long time."

A quick interjection from his Mother cut Kirigaya from his thoughts. "Yes, well, we'll still expect you to keep your grades up at school you know. Just because you're off playing hero in anther world doesn't mean you can neglect the real."

Kirigaya sent what he hoped came out as a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Mom. Neglecting the real world is the last thing I plan to do. In fact, I think I might write some product reviews while I play the game, if nothing else than to keep in the practice of writing."

The rest of that day Kirigaya would spend with his family, minus a brief amount of time spent writing a review about the dangers of removing Nerve Gear when the user is still logged in, and setting it to post as soon as the game became active. He'd gone to sleep early that night, unintentionally and barely in bed.

The day of release he tried to calm his nerves. It was a very different kind of nervousness than the one he'd felt previously. Before it had all been about going in and making sure he could find loot and make a name for himself. Now he was steeling his stomach for the moment he'd intentionally log into a game he couldn't log out of.

He savored time with his family more than the food. During his years in SAO he'd come to recognize a few players as a kind of pseudo family, with the time he spent with Asuna and Yui being the closest to an actual home.

At noon, with an hour to go before the server started he found his cousin exiting his grandfather's dojo, and an idea occurred to him. "Imouto!" He called out, "Up for a quick spar?"

She looked at him oddly, something that had happened quite often over the last few days. After a few seconds of confusion she nodded and walked back in.

It was a bit awkward putting the safety gear on, and more awkward to move in. Grabbing a shinai he adjusted to his normal grip, a move that his cousin laughed at.

"Onii-chan, it's hard to take you seriously when you forget everything about kendo!"

"Maybe that's what I'm doing, all to catch you off guard," he said jokingly, and was thus surprised when she tightened up her form.

In a sudden move she was rushing towards him, and his sword was raising to parry even as he slid around her for a better angle. Unfortunately his cousin had the discipline to remain controlled and swung a follow up before he could rebalance himself.

In his favor, however, was his unusually high reaction time. He twisted out of the way of the wooden sword before it could make contact, and in a swift motion brought his blade up in a swipe at his cousin's exposed side. The strike was batted away with ease, but Kirigaya capitalized on the moment by jumping away from his opponent.

"Have you been practicing?" Suguha asked him as he coiled his back.

"In a way," was his response as he jumped forward, swinging his sword and right arm toward his sister. She raised her own blade to catch the strike, only to watch in confusion as he tossed the sword from his right hand to his left. The, mostly showy, move had given him the distraction he needed to bat the katana out of his sister's hand, and then point the shinai at her abdomen.

The girl nodded and he lowered the blade. "Grandfather never taught you to fight like that," she noted.

"No," he agreed easily. "Suguha, do you enjoy kendo?"

She shrugged. "Enough. It's not the only thing in my life, but I like practicing something that I'm good at."

He ruffled her hair. "Do you mind if I clean up first? The game starts in a little bit."

"And you need to be the first one logged in," she said with a smile. "Go ahead. I'm going to figure out how you beat me you know!"

Kirigaya closed the door behind him, a smile on his face as he made his way towards the bathroom. Hopefully that bout would keep his cousin from becoming too upset over his extended absence.

It didn't take long before the boy had dried himself off and was attaching his NerveGear, loading the avatar he had used for his beta test. "This time, Kayaba, I won't let you play with people I care about."

After her shower Suguha went to her room to grab the game and equipment she'd bought the night before. It had been difficult to sneak out, but with her Brother acting as he had been most of the concentration in the house had been on him.

The game itself had been expensive, and she wasn't ashamed to admit she may have temporarily stolen some money from her Brother. She doubted he would mind so long as she payed him back, which she would, and it was really to spend more time with him anyway.

Box in hand she slowly opened the door to her brother's room, laying down next to him on his bed, and in the next moment putting the NerveGear helmet on.

* * *

Despite logging on nearly the moment the server connected the streets were already crowded with a medley of adventurers. The buildings and the road were all easy to recognize, but the players threw him off. Everyone was still wearing their avatar, which left a slightly sour taste in Kirito's mouth.

He confidently walked down into an alleyway, and was unsurprised when a man stopped him. "Hey, you! You look like you've been around here before."

Kirito shrugged. "Maybe. Why do you ask?"

"I want you to teach me some things," he said shamelessly.

Kirito smiled. "Sure. Let's start at the weapon shop first, after that we can go hunting for a little bit."

"Hunting huh? Oh, the name's Klein by the way."

"Kirito's mine. Yeah, hunting's the term that spread around during the beta. Grinding just didn't feel right when you're actually running and killing."

Kirito's smile didn't leave his face as he led the older man towards the main market. After a quick evaluation of weapons Klein settled on a curved blade, while Kirito grabbed a straight, one handed sword.

"So, where to next?" Klein asked as the two sheathed their swords.

"Well, there's a monster spawn to the east. We can start there. Do you know how the sword skills work?"

The next four hours passed like deja vu, with Kirito showing Klein how to fight while he picked up as many kills as he could. Throughout the process he kept an eye on Klein's health bar, ready to jump in just in case.

At Klein's discovery of the missing logout button Kirito tried to keep the man calm. "I don't like it either. Maybe they've changed things since the beta? It could be that we can only logout in a safe zone. It's a pain, but we should try heading back to town."

"All the way back there?!" Klein asked in frustration. "There's no way we can do that in time for my pizza. Isn't there a fast travel in this game?"

"Sorry, only teleport crystals and it's going to be a while before buying them is even viable, let alone economical. Look, if we run full tilt back to town the delivery man'll probably still be at the door. And that'll give us a chance to test out our speed-" Before Kirito could finish his sentence Klein was sprinting past him. "I feel bad," he commented to the air, "That must be some pizza."

In the next second he was off, and in a few minutes had caught up to Klein. At Klein's questioning look he explained, "I leveled up once when we were hunting, so I can move a bit faster."

Klein raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Huh. I didn't expect them to program movement speed in with speed stats. Normally that gets ignored."

"Well Kayaba's trying to make this game as realistic as possible," Kirito responded, attempting to keep a note of bitterness from entering his voice. Kirito glanced down at his clock, before a thought occurred to him. If they were moving at this speed when they were teleported, then once they landed in the plaza...

A blue light surrounded the two, and before Kirito could shout a warning the two were crashing into a pair of spectators in front of them, one a stunningly tall blue haired man, the other a blonde woman.

As Klein picked himself off the man, cursing in 'pain,' Kirito rolled off of the woman before offering her a hand up. "Sorry," he said apologetically and embarrassed. "We were on our way back to town to try and logout when that teleport happened. Are you hurt?"

The woman checked her HP while Klein got in a shouting match with the man he'd crashed into. "No. I guess the square is a safe zone too. I'd have thought this was a coliseum at first."

"Right, I forgot about that," Kirito answered. "And even in the coliseums you have to initiate a duel before you can be injured."

"Really? That seems like something that people would take advantage of. I suppose I should have talked to my Brother before I logged in. He was a part of the beta test," she said in way of explanation.

The impromptu conversation was ended by the appearance of Kayaba Akihiko. Kirito watched as people around him shifted throughout his speech, culminating in a scream when the man announced that 213 people were already dead. Kirito closed his eyes. 'Apparently reviews aren't very effective.'

Kirito forced himself to be disconnected from the ten thousand people around him, knowing that this would only be the beginning. A part of him wanted to leave then and there and start hunting. Another wanted to call Kayaba out, but over the sounds of thousands already shouting and screaming he would surely be drowned out.

With Kayaba's announcement of a gift in everyone's inventories Kirito quickly activated the item, intent on watching everyone's reactions at returning to their actual selves. Klein's "Kirito?!" was, to be honest, amusing to Kirito, as was everyone else's reaction. This had been a prank he could have supported, were it independent of the announcement of a death game.

His eyes were torn away from Klein's look of bewilderment when he saw the woman in front of him transforming. Where once a moderately tall, blonde woman stood was now a short, black haired girl.

And as said girl turned around to look at him his breath caught. "Imouto?" He asked in unison with the girl's "Onii-chan?"

Kirito's mind spun with confusion. Had she always been in the game? Had she been one of the thousands that died while he wasn't paying attention? If so, how had she not found him? Didn't she hate games?

As Kayaba continued his speech Kirito grabbed both his sister's arm and Klein. "There's no reason to stick around any longer," he said with forced calm, leading the two outside of the coliseum.

"But, the speech," Klein protested weakly.

"There's nothing more that we need to know. He's keeping us in a game, he's told us it's real, and he's shown off some flashy tricks. Who cares why he did it? Right now we need to worry about surviving. Any minute now the fields around here are going to be teeming with people. You didn't have to worry about hunger in the beta, but I wouldn't be surprised if you can starve to death now. We need resources and with ten thousand people frantic for any kind of kill there aren't going to be many."

Klein nodded slowly. "So we need to get as many as we can, then use that to live off of until things start to spread."

"Wrong," Kirito cut mercilessly, "We need to get away from this town immediately. Even at level one I could get us to a town in the north. People are going to be too afraid to venture that far out for awhile, and over there we'll have open fields."

Suguha watched wide eyed at her brother's decisiveness while Klein looked stricken. "Hey, I have some pals I waited in line with to get this game. I can't just leave them behind."

Kirito waved his hand. "You can bring them along. You've already got them friended right? Send them a message to meet us at the west gate in half an hour. Tell them to bring weapons, food, and potions. All they can buy. I can get us all there."

Klein's eyes lit up. "You're that good at the game?" He asked as he opened his menu.

Kirito exhaled. "During the beta I was the player that got the farthest. I was at every boss fight, and I had the highest one handed sword skill on the game. You said you've led guilds before, right? You take care of the management. If a fight comes up, I can handle it."

"Half an hour?" Klein asked with confidence. "I can make sure we get the best prices for bulk. I better go and spend my own money too. You get yourself a full kit, and take care of your sister too."

Kirito nodded. "Right. And Klein? Don't get in any duels between now and then."

He smiled as he began jogging off, "You too, you cheeky gamer. Oh, and your sister-" The sentence ended after an angry glare from Kirito and the man dashed away.

"Imouto, I'm sorry you're caught up in this, but we'll talk later. Right now we need to move fast," he grabbed her hand and pulled her along. "Your kendo is good, so we'll get you a single straight blade for now. I have some money from my hunting earlier so we should be able to get you some armor for your upper body. No matter what happens, don't get separated from me, unless I tell you to run. If I do, go to the nearest town and learn one of the trade skills. It might be tough but I'm sure you'll be able to make a living off of it."

The girl struggled to keep up with her older brother's steps. "Onii-chan, what's happening?"

Kirito sighed. "That explanation is going to take a long time. Wait until we get to the next town. After that we can rest for a while."

Suguha nodded hesitantly. The shopping that followed was quick and to the point, with Kirito telling her what to buy. Twenty minutes later the two were going to the western gate, ready to meet the other gamers.

"Kirito!" Klein called out as soon the two entered sight. "Everyone's here and ready to go if you are."

"That was fast," Kirito stated in surprise, having expected to wait another twenty minutes.

Klein shrugged. "We're all used to video games, just not VRs. Last time I guild mastered I taught them if I give them five minutes then we're leaving in three."

"Efficient," Kirito praised. "Everyone has a standard kit then?"

Klein nodded. "I went through their inventories before you got here. Health potions, a weapon and some food. Some did a bit of hunting beforehand and have a little bit of extra."

Kirito nodded in return. "Before we set off, we're setting some ground rules. If you kill a monster and get a drop, that's yours to keep. If you don't like that you can reorganize things after we get to town. For now there's no time to be trading around inventories. We're blitzing our way to the town north of here."

"Er," one of Klein's friends spoke up, "If we're going north, why're we at the west gate?"

"It's safer for us to loop around this way," Kirito explained. "On the path directly to the town there are bandit mobs that are lower level than what we'll be fighting. We're not going that way because the AI for the bandits is more advanced, and they have better skills. The path I'll be taking us will give us easier fights and more rewards. Any other questions?"

"Who's the chick?" Another voice chirped up.

Kirito wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. "No one you need to concern yourself with," he answered vaguely, ignorant to the blush on her face. He did see Klein give him an odd look, which he answered with a stare. "If that's all let's get going. I take point, Suguha stays behind me, any lancers take the next row, behind that axe users and then Klein watches our backs with any other sword users. Let's get going."

The group only had seven players in total, one axeman, two lancers and the rest sword users. Under Kirito and Klein's guidance the group effectively slaughtered monsters, making use of switches to provide cover and healing when they needed to. Kirito himself only ever took minor hits, using his reaction time to dodge attacks and make quick work of enemies. He and Suguha teamed surprisingly well, as did he and Klein. The trek to town left all players tired and slightly low in health, but with a few levels and enough Col to upgrade their gear completely.

"That was some good work out there, Kirito," Klein said happily as the group walked underneath the archway signifying the entrance to the town. Nighttime had fallen a few hours before and the group was headed straight for the town's inn. "You kept us nice and organized. Have you led a guild before?"

"No," Kirito answered. "Normally I play games solo."

"Solo?" Klein asked incredulously. "You mean you and your sister right?"

"I told you earlier, she doesn't like games."

"But, she was good! And the two of you worked together like you'd been partied for a while."

"She takes kendo," he explained, "And we used to be closer than we are now."

"Well, no going solo this time, right? With you on our side we can beat this game in a few months!" At Kirito's downward gaze he continued with less confidence. "You are going to stick with us right? You can't just go out and fight those monsters on your own."

"I'm sorry Klein," Kirito responded with sadness. "If it was just me, maybe. But I have to look after my Sister now too, and you know as well as I do that we'll level slower with a larger party."

"Well, yeah, but this game isn't like others! If you die, you die, and who's going to take care of your sister then?"

"You will. Or she can take care of herself. Look, a five person party is fine. Six people is optimal. But seven just doesn't work. Klein, I'm not just going to abandon you and your friends. Give me a few hours tomorrow and I'll give you a guide for this level, where the best spots are, what monsters are around, the good quests. Everything you'll need to know to succeed."

Klein looked at him, depressed from his earlier excitement. "There really is no talking you into joining us, is there? Well, do what you have to Kirito. And just you wait, I'll make my guild the strongest in the world! And then you'll have no choice but to join us. And we'll give you a nice desk job too, signing paperwork."

"We'll see," Kirito said as he shook the man's hand. "If you need anything send me a message."

"I'll be sure to. Want me to book you a room?" He asked as he noticed Kirito lagging behind.

"No thanks, I doubt any other players have made it to this town yet. There'll be plenty of room."

"Alright!" Klein called over his shoulder before running to throw an arm around one of his friends.

Kirito watched as the group made their way out of sight before turning to his cousin. "Are you feeling alright Suguha?"

The girl was silent, standing still and looking at her brother. "C'mon," he said, recognizing the look. It wasn't really unexpected, and if he was honest he was proud that she'd held up for so long.

Suguha followed behind him, walking close enough to kick the back of his shoe occasionally as they walked. He led her to a more expensive inn than the one Klein's guild had went to, knowing that his sister wouldn't see the environment as rustic and adventuresome.

He calmly rented a room with two beds from the NPC and grabbed his sister's arm to lead her up the stairs, then pulled her into the first room on the right.

As soon as the door shut Suguha let out a sob and Kirito pulled her into a hug. "It's alright," he comforted, rubbing her back. "I'm not going to let anything hurt you."

"Onii-chan," she managed to work out between sobs. "Are all those people really dead?"

"Yes," his voice holding regret. "They died. But we don't have to die."

The girl collapsed into him, leaving Kirito holding her up. "How're you taking this all in stride?"

"I guess it just hasn't sunk in yet," Kirito lied. "It'll probably hit me a few days from now. But, Suguha, why'd you buy the game?"

She coughed into his shirt. "I wanted to spend more time with Onii-chan," she explained, her voice still muffled. "You've been moving away from me and you spend all that time playing video games. And then you said that they can be social so I thought, 'maybe if I play the game with him we can be close again.' So I snuck out and bought a copy, I snuck into line behind a family and everyone just thought I was with them."

Kirito sighed. "Suguha, I'm sorry that you felt neglected. I just... Look, you wanted to spend more time with me right? Then this is your perfect chance, isn't it? For however long this game takes I won't leave your side unless you want me to. I'll protect you."

"That's silly," she said, turning her head up toward him, most of the tears having dried off onto his shirt. "I'm the one who's taken kendo. If anything, I'll be the one protecting you!"

Kirito patted a few stray hairs down on her head. "That may be true, but remember that I know video games. And don't forget that spar from this morning."

He was glad to see her face turn red from embarrassment, signifying her distraction from the world they were in. "That was a cheap win! You just surprised me is all!"

Kirito gave a short laugh. "Maybe, but in here I'll actually have the speed to use those moves."

Suguha gave a pouting "hmph," before laughing herself, salt stained cheeks momentarily forgotten. After a few moments of relaxing the girl spoke up again. "Onii-chan? Is it alright if I sleep next to you, just for tonight?"

"That's fine. Er, could you turn around so I can change?"

"Eh?" Suguha asked in surprise. "You brought other clothes with you?"

"What? Oh, no, there should be an option in your inventory to change into other clothes. Everyone starts with some default settings. They're not the most comfortable, but they're a lot better than combat gear."

Suguha looked through her menu for a while before finding the proper selection. "Oh. Can you turn around too then?"

"Already have."

Once both were properly attired Kirito slipped into the bed with his back to Suguha. "Goodnight, Imouto."

"Goodnight."

* * *

The next morning saw Kirito typing with a speed Suguha could barely follow, at least when she'd only been awake for a few minutes. "So, it's all real, huh?"

"Sorry," Kirito answered. "Just give me a little bit longer and then we can go to the market for something fresh and get some better gear. I'd like us to gain a few more levels today, farm the monsters before everyone else starts showing up. I'll try and introduce you more to the basics of RPGs, or at least SAO."

To his relief Suguha sat quietly and waited patiently as he finished writing his guide for Klein, making sure to annotate unique terms and describe each monsters default skills.

"Thanks, Suguha, we can go get some food now."

"Good!" She chimed in as she opened the door to go downstairs. "We barely even ate yesterday!"

It was true, and a factor Kirito had needed to account for while planning their journey. It wasn't easy to fight on an empty stomach, but they couldn't afford to stop and make camp yesterday either. Instead the group had to make do with eating whatever they could while still moving, really only bread and cheese.

"Well, I know a restaurant here that sells some good soup if you're interested. That's where we're meeting up with Klein and his party."

"Onii-chan? Are we really separating from them?"

"I know you'd like the company," he said apologetically, "But the more people there are, the slower we get stronger. It'll only be for awhile though, and I imagine we'll be staying at the same town as them for the next week at least."

The two made their way down the street, devoid of any players but teeming with busy NPCs. It wouldn't last long though, by the end of the day a few other betas would have shown up, and probably a few other parties as well.

When the pair arrived at the restaurant he wasn't surprised that everyone from Klein's group was already there and eating. In fact, upon closer inspection, they had all re-outfitted as well, the weapons gleaming in the early sunlight.

Kirito shook his head in amusement. "You really don't waste any time at all, do you? Your leader looks like he could play the part of a bandit, and yet you're all more organized than any army I've seen."

"And that, young Kirito, is why we'll be the top guild. Why, by the end of the month each and every one of these sorry excuses for gamers will be leading their own party, all reporting to their head, me! And Kirito, you'll be given the honor of cleaning our guildhouse!"

"The ever humble Kirito is so proud, master Klein. Here's your guide by the way," he said as he flicked across a few menus to send the book to Klein.

The poorly shaven man turned serious as he skimmed through the data. After a few seconds he gave out a low whistle. "You work quick yourself, Kirito. When you said it would take you a few hours, I thought we'd be eating while you worked on it. And if everything in here is this detailed, you must be quite the investigator."

"I'll send you an update once I've gotten the stuff for the rest of the floor written in instead of just this quarter of the level. I'll try and have one worked up for the second floor as well. Oh, and feel free to distribute it to anyone you come across, unless it's marked otherwise. I figure stuff like monster drops and attack patterns should get out to everyone, try and help out as much as we can. Stuff like once-only treasures and special events however..."

"You want to keep on a tighter leash. Makes sense, just don't expect to be the only one with that kind of information."

"Oh, I know I'm not. But I've also explored this game more fully than anyone else at the moment, minus people who worked on the game."

Klein nodded. "Like that Kayaba person. The-"

"Yes, like Kayaba," Kirito interrupted, giving Klein a straight look while tilting the side of his head toward Suguha. "And don't rely on it too much either. For all that I know about the game, it's been awhile since I was here, things might be a little inaccurate due to poor recall or the programmers may have changed things between the beta and now."

"I'll keep that in mind. And, if you'll excuse us, my men and I are out to hit the fields. We have a head start, but others will be showing eventually and I'd like to capitalize on our advantage. Shall we meet back here for dinner? Say, 1930?"

"Sounds good, but if we're late don't bother wating for us. I plan on making as much of the day as I can too. Good luck out there!"

"Happy hunting to you too!" Klein called back.

Suguha paused before taking another spoonful of the soup she'd ordered while Kirito was talking. "We're not eating until that late?"

"We'll eat while we're out there too," he reassured her. "It'll have gotten dark by then, so there's no reason to stay out in the fields that late. It's an efficiency thing, which is your first lesson. In a game like this, or in real life for that matter, the person who can fit the most work into the least amount of time has the edge."

"If that's the case, shouldn't you be eating breakfast? I ordered you a bowl too."

Kirito smiled and ruffled her hair. "So you did. And for that, I'll buy a sweet roll for while we're out in the field."

The two ate silently before heading to the market to trade in their weapons for the best tier they could afford. It was odd having to ration funds so much again, but he had learned how to haggle prices, with players and NPCs alike, over his years of SAO.

"Now once we leave town we'll be hunting some monsters. There's only the two of us, so we need to work together. If the monsters we're fighting start getting easy for you, tell me."

"What's our goal for today then?"

"Well, let's try and make a profit of more than a hundred Col each for today."

Suguha tilted her head. "Onii-chan, we made about half that on our way here. We'll be done before lunch if we're looking for monsters."

"Except by profit I meant after all of our expenses for the day. It cost us fifteen Col for the room last night, four for breakfast, we spent another five for what'll make up our lunch, our heal items cost about ten each, dinner will probably be six more and then we need to make sure our armor and weapons keep their durability. The expenses add up, more so if we're not careful while we're hunting."

"So if we don't get hit, we make more money."

Kirito grinned. "Exactly. You know, Imouto, you might end up being quite the ace, provided you hang around me and learn at least half of what I know," he boasted in jest.

"Yeah, and if you stick around you might remember how to hold a sword," the girl fired back.

Kirito laughed. "I'm telling you, that's a sword style. My own, but still a viable style!"

Suguha shook her head. "Maybe, but it's missing something. In our fight you were open for most of it, you had to evade where a parry from a traditional stance would be more effective."

Kirito shook his head. "You really are too clever for your own good. Heck, if I'd have known you could analyze like that I may have become like grandfather and forced you to follow my footsteps."

As the two crossed the barrier into the open field Suguha looked at him with curiosity. "What do you mean?"

Kirito grinned. "Oh, there's something missing from my style alright. Let's see how long it takes you to figure it out."

"Onii-chan, that's not fair at all!"

"Hey, it's a video game now. Fairness exists in the weapon system, not in the word puzzles."

The two walked in a companionable silence, something Kirito was rather surprised about. He'd been distancing himself from her for a few years, even before his two and a half years spent in SAO. It was odd that, when given reason to, they still had a better than average relationship.

"Hey, what's that over there?"

Disrupted from his thoughts Kirito looked upwards, along the path his cousin's finger was pointing out. "That, Imouto, is going to be your first solo kill. It's a pack of Frenzy Boar, level one monsters. Each'll be worth about a Col each, maybe a few more if you get some decent drops from them. At your level you can take them on easily. In the meantime..." Kirito scanned the field surrounding them, before settling on a target. "Let's make this a little interesting. There's a pack of wolves over on the other hill. You take out the boars, and if you kill them and get to me before I finish off then I'll make some extra money to give you to shop for clothes. Sound good?"

Evidently not, as Suguha leveled a glare at him. "I'm not going to waste our money on clothes."

Kirito scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Ah. I'll buy us some soap then?"

"Some..." Suguha began, before lifting her shirt's arm toward her nose in curiousity. Her face wrinkled slightly as she took a small sniff. "We only get it if I win?"

"That's the deal," he answered to Suguha's retreating form. With a quick shoulder roll to loosen his arm he headed off towards his own target.

The wolves were a higher level group, but within his margin of safety. Digging out a handful of throwing pins he'd purchased that morning he circled around to the back of the group before launching them at the unsuspecting target.

This did enough damage for him to finish it off with his basic sword skill before it could strike back, bringing his enemies down to three. Each growled at him, while trying to make a circle around him. Before they could get into position Kirito launched a quick slash at the leftmost, then without looking brought his sword up to the right to block the inevitable strike.

True to its combat programming the wolf crashed against the flat of his blade, was pushed back by Kirito's superior strength, and caught by a quick slashing counterattack. A crouch left the only uninjured wolf leaping over his head, giving him the opportunity to slice its underbelly open, resulting in a critical hit and a kill.

Kirito rolled away from the last two wolves to give himself some space. The wolves attempted to set up a pincer by attacking him from each side, but a well timed wide slash took both out before they could do any damage.

With a practiced flip of the wrist Kirito accepted the battle's earnings and was about to check on Suguha when a larger, deeper growl interrupted him.

He let out a groan as he recognized an Alpha, a little taller than him and usually only appearing in higher level areas when a pack was killed. He leapt to the side to avoid its first charge, too off balance to hit it on its way by. As both he and his opponent rebalanced themselves he recalled the wolf's stats. He could survive a few slashes from its claws thanks to his armor, but if it caught him with its fangs he could be in a sizable amount of trouble.

The wolf charged again, though this time Kirito managed to leave a shallow slice on its side when he dodged. Before he could follow up a voice shouted switch and he instinctively obeyed.

Suguha, moving at a running pace jumped into the air past him and landed with a heavy, two handed strike to the wolf's head. Kirito watched in approval as she proceeded to slash its legs, restricting its movement while it was still staggered, and then finished with a blow to the neck.

As the nearly decapitated wolf collapsed into particles Suguha gave him an innocent look. "Does this mean we get soap?"

Kirito glanced at the funds added to their Col. "Suguha, with the funds from that kill alone we've already covered the day's expenses, and a little extra if we don't use our potions. By the end of the day we'll probably be able to buy soap that actually cleans things."

Suguha sweatdropped. "There's soap that doesn't clean things?"

Kirito nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty cheap too. That's what I was planning on buying if you won our competition. It's a bit of a shame, I'd planned this speech about how the soap was symbollic of-"

"I don't need the speech."

"Are you sure? It might help you on the way to deism."

* * *

As Kirito and Suguha made their way to the restaurant Kirito couldn't help but feel as if they'd done some good that day. Suguha had proven to be a quick learner and he already felt comfortable letting her fight on her own. With the two effectively soloing while in a party their growths weren't hampered too much, and the combined Col would let them grow even faster if used prudently.

"Suguha, we're going to stay in town for three more days, after that we're moving on. There are some pretty easy quests available here that I want us to take over the next few days. The quests will give us some bonus items and a little extra Col, but they will be tougher so if it comes to it don't be afraid to ask for help."

Suguha nodded absently, and Kirito decided he'd let the matter slide for now. He'd remind her in the morning. "What's on your mind?"

Suguha shook herself out of her thoughts. "Not much. I'm just wondering how much time we can spend in game before our actual bodies, you know..."

"Don't worry about it," Kirito reassured her. "They'll have moved our bodies to hospitals by now, and set us up so that machines are taking care of our bodies."

Suguha shuddered. "You mean with tubes hooked up to us all? I don't think I like that."

"I don't think anyone likes it very much," Kirito admitted. "But it's a lot better than not having them."

"I suppose," Suguha agreed unhappily. "So, what are we going to have for dinner?"

"I'm not very hungry to be honest, so I'll probably just buy a sandwich or something. What about you?"

"I saw an NPC with some interesting looking eggs this morning so I think I'll try that."

The two made small talk until they ran into Klein's party, at which point the began swapping stories from the day.

"So," Klein began mischievously as the three sat down at a table, "What was the strongest thing you two took down today?"

"Well, there was something Kirito told me was an Alpha Wolf," Suguha said plainly. "It was the strongest single monster, but Kirito had weakened it for a while before I showed up. On my own, I was fighting a pack of those differently colored boars a little bit before we ended the day."

Kirito nodded in agreement. "Yeah, the Alpha would be the strongest monster we fought today."

Klein hit his head against the table. "You just can't let me get a break, can you? I spend my entire day out there fighting and my entire guild struggles to take down a pack of those Greater Boars, and a little girl does it on her own."

Kirito laughed. "That's Suguha for you. Don't worry Klein, maybe we'll hire you to scrub the floors in our house once we buy one, that should get you enough money to start expanding your guild."

While Klein pouted Suguha turned to Kirito. "Eh? We can buy a house on this game?"

"Eventually. It's going to take us a long time before we can afford one though," Kirito warned.

"Aha!" Klein popped back into the conversation. "That's one thing you won't beat us on. We'll have our guild house long before you have a place to call home!"

Kirito shook his head in amusement before taking a bite of his sandwich. "Klein, one of these days you're going to actually insult one of us, and when that time comes I really do pity you."

"Oho, and why is that?"

"Because I don't like it when people make fun of Oni-chan." Suguha said seriously.

"And I don't like it when I think people are getting overly personal with her either," Kirito added. "Not to threaten you of course. I'm sure you'd never do that."

"Bah, the two of you are too nice to really do much. I mean, what kind of people trying to solo the game bring a party along with them?" Despite the confidence in his statement Kirito noticed that Klein had scooted his chair away from them by a few centimeters.

"On the subject of us being too nice for our own good," Kirito led in, "I have some more information for you. There are some NPC quests that talk about a group called Laughing Coffin. During the Beta some players made a guild by that name, and so I wouldn't be surprised if another shows up."

Klein leaned back towards the table, returning to a business tone. "And what's so special about this guild?"

Kirito opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. "Suguha, would you mind ordering us some dessert? I'm feeling a little bit hungrier now."

The girl obliged somewhat begrudgingly and Kirito watched her out of the corner of his eye to make sure she was far enough away. "In the quests and during the Beta Laughing Coffin was a guild of criminals, criminals that weren't above PKing. Now, it might not happen because this is for all intents and purposes real until we beat the game, but just in case..."

"You think they'd still kill players, knowing that they'll be dead for good? That seems a little extreme."

"I know," Kirito said, "And I'm not sure they will. At the same time though, I'm not going to trust anyone unless I have a reason to. People are desperate right now, and when people are desperate..."

"They do things they wouldn't otherwise," Klein finished. "Alright, I'll keep an eye out for this Laughing Coffin. Anything else before your Sister comes back?"

"Two things actually. One, I have some names to give you. I'll message the list to you later, but they're people I want you to keep an eye out for. If you see any of them, I'd appreciate a message telling me where. Secondly, so you don't put your foot in your mouth, Suguha isn't really my Sister, we were just raised that way. I was adopted. She doesn't know."

Klein nodded, a little sheepishly. "Yeah, I probably would have said something awkward. Thanks for the heads up. If things turn as crazy as you think they will though, keep in mind that you won't be able to keep her hands clean forever."

"I know. Still, I'm not much of a brother if I don't at least try. She's having some trouble coping as it is."

"Who isn't? Kami, I can't wait until we have enough money to buy some good alcohol. I take it that stuff works like it should?"

"It does, just don't drink too much. Even if we're in game, there's still only so much you'll be able to handle."

"Bah," Klein mocked, "If I can't handle as much as I can in real life then I'll just have to get a skill or something that lets me."

Kirito snorted, "If you find a skill like that you'll have to add it to the manual."

"I don't know," Klein said mischievously as Suguha returned to the table, "If I find a skill like that, it's going to be something to keep to myself. Then challenge another player to a drinking contest and start reaping some rewards."

Kirito shook his head in mock disgust. "I'm ashamed. Here I thought you were on the path to becoming a respectable player of this game, but it turns out I only helped out a man who plans to fund his guild by drinking."

"There's nothing saying a man can't do both!" The banter would last long into the night, right up until the NPC barmen threw them out.

AN: And so it begins again. It's been a few years since I've posted anything, though I have still been writing. The initial idea for this was, admittedly, the plethora of time travel fics that exist and I figured why not do it for SAO as well. I'm not sure how I feel about this though, it seems like I'm going through things too fast... Well, consider this a demo chapter then, I'll probably come back and rewrite everything prior to returning to SAO, since that seems the most rushed, but I'm posting this to see if I can light the fire under myself to get it all going. Although I need to spend some time looking through the side stories, I've only read a handful of those and I want to be as connected with canon as I can before I get too far into things. Anyway, thanks for reading the fanfiction of someone trying to get back in the swing of things.


	2. Chapter 2

"Onii-chan, there's a pack of wolves _right there_. Why aren't we fighting?" Suguha pouted as she walked next to Kirito.

"For the same reason we only ended up getting five hours of sleep last night, I want us to finish the quest as soon as we can. It's one with a pretty big reward, but it takes a while to find the right mobs and other beta testers are going to know about it as well. If everyone's looking for the same thing it'll take even longer."

Suguha glared at him as he led them around the range of another group of mobs. "This sword had better be worth it."

Kirito responded by rubbing her hair as he directed them back towards the forest. "I had no idea you'd developed so much bloodlust, Imouto. I've failed your parents, one day with me as your authority figure and already you're trying to slaughter innocent creatures."

Suguha gave a huff and looked away from him as they entered the forest. "It's not that. I just want to get as much Col as we can."

"Greed isn't a much better trait," Kirito warned as he casually sliced a Little Nepent that hadn't noticed him in half. "Make sure you stay close to me. We've leveled up enough that the mobs around here shouldn't be a problem, but we'd still be in trouble if there are too many of them. If we get too far apart they'll be spawning for each of us, and I'd rather play this safe."

To that Suguha nodded silently, bringing her sword down on a mob to her left. The pair worked efficiently, moving ever deeper into the forest. This particular quest, the «Secret Medicine of the Forest» required each person taking it to collect an «Ovule» from a Little Nepent. Fortunately the «Ovule» could be seen on top of the Nepent, provided it was carrying one, to let the players know which mobs they needed to attack. Unfortunately the «Ovule» had a very low chance of appearing, forcing the players to fight the Nepents until one with the «Ovule» spawned. It was tiresome work, but worthwhile.

"Still, at the moment it's true that we need money," Kirito said thoughtfully, "So I suppose I can at least teach you to be greedy in an effective manner." He ignored Suguha's glare as he engaged another Little Nepent. "It's true that on our way here we were effectively losing money. However, do you care to take a stab at how much the reward form this quest, the «Anneal Blade» is worth?"

Suguha gave him a thoughtful look as she finished off the Little Nepent Kirito had engaged. "From the way you're saying this, a lot. A hundred and fifty col then?"

Kirito smiled. "A little bit higher."

"Two hundred?"

"Not quite. Now, at the moment I doubt more than a dozen people have completed this quest so the price may be more for the moment, but last time an «Anneal Blade» that hadn't been used was worth sixteen thousand col," upon seeing Suguha gulp he laughed. "Sorry, we won't be selling these. They're worth that much because they're the best swords available at the moment."

Kirito had to hold back a chuckle at how serious Suguha was treating the Nepents now.

An hour later the two, sweating from the exertion, found their first «Ovule», balanced on top of a Little Nepent resting in a clearing. "Suguha, I'll take care of the normal ones, you go for the one with the seed on its head. Make sure you kill it quickly, if it it takes too long the seed will grow to a fruit and we're out here for another hour."

With a nod the smaller girl shot off, leaving Kirito to pick off the mobs that saw her and gave chase. With their current levels, five for Suguha and six for Kirito, the only real threat from the level three Little Nepents was if they were attacked multiple times from behind or if they were spawning faster than the two could kill. It only took Suguha two clean swipes before her target had shattered into the glowing fragments that represented its death. Even then by the time she turned around to help Kirito the last of the four other Nepents had died.

Kirito was in the process of sheathing his sword with his usual flourish when a sound of clapping interrupted him. Before he realized it his sword was in its ready position and he had positioned himself between Suguha and the foreign noise.

"No need to prepare for a fight," a voice that seemed familiar came out of the foliage in front of him. "I have no intention of fighting anything but mobs, and Kayaba if he ever shows up again." The man moved into the clearing and it took Kirito a few moments to reconcile the man with his memory.

The brown leathers that served as armor were unfamiliar, and when Kirito had known the man there was little chance of him wielding a sword with half its durability like the one he had now. The scraggles of black hair and the man's sheer height, however, were a familiar sight.

The man bowed a few meters away from Kirito, far enough away to give him time to draw his sword should Kirito dash towards him, which had he been in a less shocked state of mind he may have.

"My name is Kuradeel. I just wanted to congratulate you on how quickly the two of you dispatched those Nepents, and to see if you wanted to travel back to the quest giver together."

Kirito's blood seemed to freeze at the confirmation of his hunch, and it was only Suguha sidestepping him to answer that saved him from insulting the man.

"Sorry, we still need to find another «Ovule». Thank you for the offer though," she added with a slight bow.

Kuradeel bowed back. "That's fine. I'd offer my aid in that as well, but I doubt I'd be more than a hindrance at the moment. Good luck with the rest of your hunting."

"Goodbye," Suguha said politely as the man turned to the side and began his trek back to the village. Kirito, still frozen, was further mortified when Suguha elbowed him and a cracked "Bye," barely escaped his mouth.

Suguha looked at him oddly, but waited until the man was out of hearing range to ask what was wrong.

"Ah, sorry. He just looked like someone I've met before."

"Could it have been the same person? Maybe he lived near where we do."

Kirito shuddered at the thought before forcing himself to still. "Maybe. Sorry for freezing up like that. I've been on edge today for some reason."

Suguha seemed satisfied enough at that, as she spread her arms out to gesture at the forest around them. "Well, we have the rest of the day to find another «Ovule». Where should we start?"

* * *

The sun was setting on the first floor when the boy who was once known as the Black Swordsman and his cousin reached the edge of «Aroto», having returned after completing the quest in «Horunka.» Kirito felt oddly nostalgic at the familiar weight of the «Anneal Blade» that had been his weapon of choice for the first few floors. A pang of sorrow shot through him as he realized he felt more nostalgic for the sword than he had at seeing most of his family.

The feeling was stifled somewhat when Suguha bumped into his shoulder a little bit, having lost her footing slightly to exhaustion. He forced a smile as she mumbled a "sorry" to him.

"It's fine- it's been a long day for both of us, hasn't it? I promise that tomorrow I'll show you a little trick that'll get us some better housing. The first wave of people is starting to hit «Aroto» so prices in the inn will be going up substantially. Since prices are going up anyway we may as well stay somewhere that has a bit more privacy, and I might be able to find us a place with an actual bath."

"That'll be nice," Suguha admitted. "What's the plan for tomorrow?"

"We'll move on to the next town over. I want us to be able to upgrade our swords in a little bit, but I'd rather wait until we meet a player blacksmith for that, and that'll take a while. Still, even with the basic stats of these swords and our current levels we'd be able to peek in the dungeon at the end of the floor. We'll want to get new armor before we-"

Today, it seemed, was not his day for avoiding people. "You, behind the bush. Come on out, slowly."

"Is that how you treat a friend, Ki-bou~?" Kirito couldn't quite keep himself from hanging his head slightly in resignation as the auburn haired girl approached. "Mou, the game's barely began again and already you've found yourself a partner and made me change my information on you."

Kirito sighed. "Hi Argo. This is..." He caught himself before he said Suguha's real name. Someone like Klein was safe to say it around, but an information dealer was an information dealer first and foremost, friend second. He took a moment to check the top left corner of his version where his party screen was, blinking in surprise momentarily at the 'Suguha' written there. "Suguha. Suguha, this is Argo, an information dealer."

Argo smiled as she walked towards the pair. "No need to be so business-like when we aren't even doing business yet Ki-bou. Why, if I didn't know you better I'd say you didn't like me."

Kirito allowed a smile to cross his face. It had been a while since they'd run through this particular ritual and it calmed the nerves that were still frayed from his earlier encounter with Kuradeel. "It's good to see you Argo, it's been a while."

"So you say. And yet you've already started cutting in to my business!"

The meaning of her visit became clear to Kirito. "Ah, you found out about my guidebook?"

From the corner of his eye he saw Suguha's confused expression at Argo's sudden, and very animated, pouting. "I was going to make a fortune selling a guide like that! And I can't even do that now, because somehow yours is more detailed than mine!"

Kirito, caught off guard, put his hands up in defense, "It's not like I put everything in there. Well, almost everything for Klein's admittedly. But I left plenty out! You can still make more than you need by selling that info!"

"That's not enough. Do you know how much people would pay for something like that? I'd have made thousands of col off beta players alone! And then the advertising I'd get afterwards when sales are going down and I made it free to everyone, my name in the cover... Ki-bou, you just single-handedly ruined my business plan."

At Argo's depressed look Kirito took a step forward, "It's not the end of the world, Argo. Just because you've lost a bit of business doesn't mean you won't be able to win it back."

In a moment Argo's hand had grabbed the front of Kirito's shirt. "That's what I plan to do, and you're going to take responsibility for this."

"W-what?"

"You heard me. I'm willing to let the lack of advertising go... for now. In the meantime though, I need those funds so I can set up sources. And you're going to get me those funds."

Kirito went through the value of his gear mentally. "How much?"

Argo let go of his shirt. "More than you could have made so far. For the next month you're going to form a party with me."

Kirito raised an eyebrow. "A third of our experience and col seems a bit... much."

"I'm not just going to leach off of you. Whenever I have business I'll leave the party. The other half of the deal... That can wait until later."

A debate ran through Kirito's head. Having easy access to Argo would certainly make it easier to find his other friends, but it made him uncomfortable to add another person to his party. Having Suguha to look after was bad enough, but she was a special case. Argo... She'd looked after herself perfectly fine the last time. Though he did feel bad that he'd forgotten her business at first. On the other hand he needed to gain as much experience and col as he could before the first boss battle, and he was already having trouble just keeping up to his previous level and keeping Suguha trained up. Getting Argo up to level as well... Though she did already know how to play so it'd be a lot less work-

"He'll do it," Suguha interrupted his thought process, seemingly annoyed. It took him a while to figure out why, then realized he'd been standing there for half a minute completely silent while Argo looked on.

"Uh, yeah," Kirito agreed. "Sorry, I got lost in thought there."

"Ohhh, what were you thinking about, Ki-bou~?" Argo asked suggestively as she moved to Kirito's side and took his arm.

Kirito froze at the close contact, heedless to her manipulating his menu. It was only once she'd let go and began a conversation with Suguha that he returned to his senses, registering the third name on his party list. With a sigh Kirito jogged forward to catch up with the pair, listening closely to their conversation. Suguha's quest for money had already started worrying him, leaving her to be corrupted by Argo was... a very undesirable situation.

"So, how long have you known Ki-bou? I don't recognize your name, so it must not have been long," Argo asked with a mischievous grin on her face as she talked with Suguha, flashing a look at Kirito. The grin grew wider when she saw his distress.

Suguha put a finger to her chin and looked toward the sky. "As far as I can remember, I think. There are some memories without him, but I imagine he must have just been in another room or something. What about you?"

Argo's eyes widened at the answer and the grin fell off of her face and Kirito understood her discomfort. "Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to, well, uh..."

Suguha turned to their new walking companion in confusion. "What?"

As Argo continued to stammer Kirito walked up and placed a hand on Suguha's shoulder. "Sugu, people try not to talk about the real world here. It's a bit rude to ask or bring it up unless it's someone that you know extremely well."

Argo seemed to collect herself at Kirito's explanation, realizing she was dealing with a novice rather than someone being deliberate. "Right. I, uh, didn't mean to ask something like that. I just figured you'd met him on the first day or something. Don't worry, I'll keep the information to myself."

"Information?"

At this Kirito gave a small laugh that defused the tension. "Argo's the kind of information dealer that prides herself in knowing everything about everyone. And every bit of information has a price to her, though some answers do become unreasonably high."

"I have a right to set my own prices, Ki-bou," Argo defended readily. "And if I think it's worth a hundred thousand col to know about my whiskers, then I'll keep it that way."

Kirito's eyes gained a glint. "Well then, it's a good thing that I have my own sources of information now, isn't it?"

Argo's eyes narrowed dangerously, "What do you mean?"

"I seem to remember a certain quest where one has to punch a rock until it's durability reaches zero."

Kirito was surprised that she was able to retain a straight a face, even if it did become very forced. "Do you? And what does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing," Kirito shrugged. "Just thought I'd let you know you may want to include a new source of information on your list. If the price is right, that is."

The rest of the walk back was passed with some companionable chatter. Fortunately for Kirito nothing specific from the beta test was brought up, which was a little too far back for him to have a clear recollection of. Suguha enjoyed the company though, and Kirito was glad he'd gotten the chance to reconnect with another friend. Of all the players in SAO Argo was the only one he could say he'd kept in contact with throughout the entire game, even if it at times it was strictly because of business matters.

* * *

"Nnnh, Ki-bou, when did you get so mean?" Argo asked as she wiped at the sleep in her eyes. "At the very least you could have come woken me up yourself instead of sending Suguha."

Kirito shook his head. "And get a claw to the face?"

"It's a safe zone," Argo defended, yawning. "You wouldn't lose any health."

Suguha gave a glare to Kirito. "You knew that would happen?"

"That actually did?" Kirito asked surprised. "I thought she'd show some mercy to you. Sorry about that." It took concerted effort to avoid the continued glare. "Well, uh, we're wasting daylight. There's a delivery quest from here to the next town so we may as well pick that up. It'll get us some new housing available if nothing else."

His attempt to distract Suguha had failed, and Argo's grin wasn't helping matters. Still, if he was going to go down as a demon anyway... "We'll eat breakfast out in the field."

Argo's widening grin did nothing to calm his nerves.

The next few hours were especially tense for Kirito. He'd expected Suguha's revenge to come quickly, and it still hadn't occurred. He'd given her multiple chances, letting her buy their food for the day, leaving his back to her multiple times, even pretending to have fallen asleep at one point. Despite this Suguha refused to take any of the multiple opportunities he'd given her, choosing instead to throw herself at any group of mobs in the general direction of their destination.

The scowl on Suguha's face had been steadily growing as the day went on though, and Kirito was progressively becoming more and more nervous. He'd tried to take comfort in his memories, hoping to find something to suggest she wasn't creative enough to come up with anything too elaborate or embarrassing. He'd failed.

That, in turn, set Kirito to work on trying to find something, anything, he could do to decrease her ire. As he puzzled between letting her take the first bath that night or finding a store in the next town that sold some form of sweet his mind took a slight sidetrack. When he'd agreed to come back in time he hadn't considered much, though this certainly wasn't what he'd had in mind. Admittedly he had thought he'd just died, but he didn't really consider the repercussions and things were already spiraling away from him.

The... Entity had told him that he'd screwed up at some point and was very likely to meet a bad end at some point in the near future. He doubted that the Entity would have told him what he'd done wrong if he'd asked, but it would have been worth a shot. Had his mind been fading already? As for what had gone wrong...

His eyes fell on Suguha dealing with some «Greater Boars» that had been grazing to the side. Had she been here before? It was possible, he supposed. With ten thousand people in the game, and the majority of them staying on early floors he'd certainly not interacted with most of them. Or, the grim thought returned, had she been one of the thousands that had died before he could beat Kayaba? There was no way to prove it, but... it did leave Kirito feeling guilty.

As for the other people he'd met, Kirito had played enough video games to have a decent grasp of time travel. Because he'd changed a few things he couldn't rely on his foreknowledge for specific events. He doubted much in the game would change as far as bosses or enemies, not for a while anyway. Things like saving Silica and Asuna, those he'd need to be keeping an eye on so he'd know when to show up, if his help was even needed anymore.

More than that though were the things he wanted to change. Diabald, for all his faults, didn't deserve to die. And, most importantly, were the Black Cats. Whatever it took, they were all going to live through this game.

It would take a bit of work to keep an eye on them, especially since he had Suguha with him now. He was confident that he'd find a way to do it though.

A glint of the sun hitting his eye brought his attention back to the field around him. Their destination was within sight now and Kirito decided that he may as well work on getting back in Suguha's good graces. "You two go ahead and finish the quest, I'm going to stay out here and start hunting. Here," he opened his menu to the trade option, then transferred some col to Argo, "This should cover the second floor of the house."

It didn't take long for Kirito to fall into a pattern of baiting and killing the mobs in the area, finding the ones that would chase after him on their own and just barely touching their range. Fighting the basic AI of the first floor mobs was trickier than he had expected it to be, mostly because his mind kept telling him to respond to the follow up attacks of the higher floors, when none would occur.

It wasn't until the sun had begun to set that Kirito decided to begin his real hunting, looking for a gift for Suguha. It wasn't the most... empathetic decision, but if he had learned one thing during his prior experience in the gaming world, it was that bribing worked more often than not. The trick was finding the right thing to bribe with.

Unfortunately the armor shop didn't have anything he thought Suguha would like, neither functionally nor aesthetically. The bakery had already been picked through by the day's NPCs and all that was left were a few cold loaves of bread. Beginning to feel desperate Kirito began entering every shop on the street, studying each store's inventory for anything that would work as a passable gift.

Walking into the last shop on the street Kirito didn't have high hopes for finding anything and had almost resolved to see if he could wait out the night and then get something from the bakery in the early morning. Looking around gave him another idea though.

The store was one that catered to players taking up trades. Ingredients for cooking lined every shelf, or potion making if one could find a way to activate the unique skill. What caught Kirito's eye however was a small potted plant that brought back some memories.

"How much for the salvia plant?" he asked the shopkeeper, on old woman with a hunched back.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, you'll have to bring it up to the counter," the NPC replied, a common response when there's a problem with the voice recognition programming. Kirito was quick to bring the plant up to the counter.

"Ah, you mean the «Rukute»? Not many people are interested in buying that one, so I'll sell it to you for 20 col."

"Is it perennial?" Kirito asked, seeking to confirm his suspicions. The woman's nod made him convinced that it was worth a shot. "I'll buy it then, and three more if you have them."

The old woman smiled as she took his col and pulled three more of the «Rukute» from behind the counter. "It's not kind of plant I'd expect someone so young to buy. May I ask what you're planning to use them for?"

"What I'm... Oh, no, I'm not a cook or anything. There were some plants like it that grew around where I grew up."

The old woman stared at him blankly before wishing him a pleasant day and transferring the plants to his inventory. With a satisfied smile on his face Kirito made his way up the dirt street, toward the house his party had rented out. It wasn't one he'd stayed at before, a two bedroom rental wasn't the best way for a single person to spend money, but it seemed nice enough from the outside, if a bit plain.

The farmers outside of the house paid him no heed as he walked past them and the younger children in the house were content to let him pass by on his way to the stairs. Mindful that Suguha or Argo may have just finished taking a bath he knocked on the door that separated the two floors, then waited a few moments after Suguha's reply of "Come in," to turn the doorknob.

It seemed that they even had a common room, as Suguha was currently stretched out on a sofa. "Argo left a while ago, said something about her job," Suguha told him without preamble.

"I imagine that's how she'll spend most of her afternoons," Kirito said knowingly.

"What is it that she actually does, anyway? She mentioned a few things here and there today, but nothing that specific."

Kirito took a seat on a moderately comfortable chair in the corner of the room. "Argo is many things," Kirito began in a sagelike tone before changing to a more matter of fact one, "But she deals in two main things, information and high value brokering."

Suguha bit back a yawn before asking, "Brokering? There's a stock market here?" If Kirito hadn't heard his Aunt complaining about his Uncle's obsession with the market, he would have been surprised by her reaction.

"Not entirely, though it's related. When people want to trade around large sums of col or rare items but either don't trust the other person, aren't on their friend list or simply can't get in contact with them, they like to work through brokers like Argo. She charges them a handling fee depending on the value of what's being traded and in turn ensures that the items are what each person wanted."

Suguha seemed interested in the idea. "How?"

"That goes back to the first part of her job. She has sources of information I could only begin to fathom when it comes to specific people or events. People go to her with questions about, say, a dungeon and she charges them a fee to answer the question. She also keeps tabs on many of the players, to the point where if you ask her who has the most upgraded weapon in the game she could give a list of all the major weapons currently owned, who owns them, what they've been upgraded with and what price the owner would want for them."

"People pay for that? Isn't that kind of like what you gave Klein for free though?"

Kirito winced. "It is, and that's why she's upset with me. Fortunately Argo'll probably be the only to have traced that back to me. Otherwise more than a few information dealers would be out for my head. To them, information like that is worth more gold than anyone using my guide is likely to find."

"That seems unfair," Suguha said, rolling a shoulder to stretch it out.

"To some," Kirito agreed. "Speaking of unfair things... I'm sorry about this morning."

Suguha raised an eyebrow at him, "Sorry about getting me a claw in the face? One you knew full well was coming?"

Kirito bowed his head. "I know, I'm sorry. I was selfish about it. I kept expecting you to get even all day long."

The eyebrow remained raised and Kirito felt a wave of coldness wash over him. "Then maybe you don't remember me as well as I thought you did."

The words stung more than Suguha probably intended to, and turned the conversation from being about an honest mistake to a much more serious topic. To her, it had been a few years of them drifting apart, to him it had been that plus two and a half years of complete separation.

A remote corner of his mind recognized that most of Suguha's anger was probably caused by stewing over things most of the day, and that was what led the morning's hijinks to the level of bringing up their distancing lives when the last few days had gone so well. That and the shock of being in a strange world would be wearing off by now and giving Suguha to collect her thoughts.

The dominant part of his mind simply felt guilty though. "Kendo wasn't the right... No. Suguha, I can't make two years up to you right now. For that, I just ask that you give me some time. All of that... All of that is too much right now. There are things I can't explain yet. I just... Well, I hoped that these would make you feel a little better." It only took Kirito a few seconds to materialize the four «Rukute» plants.

Suguha's previously penetrating glare died down as she took in the sight of the plants. "Those are... Salvia?" She asked, recognizing them from the family's garden.

"I think so. The store keeper called them «Rukute», but they look and smell the same, so I'm hoping it'll have the same flavor once they've bloomed."

"It's... Thank you." Suguha seemed to steel herself with a deep breath before standing up to examine the plants. While turning a leaf over in her hand and keeping her eyes set firmly on the «Rukute» she addressed Kirito.

"If you still need time to sort things out, then I can wait, but I want an explanation someday." The smile on her face was obviously forced as she looked up at him, but there was some true mirth in her eyes as she said, "And I'll accept these as a sign that you didn't mean to send me to the wolves. But you're waking her up tomorrow."

Kirito forced a smile of his own, showing his agreement to move on to other topics. "No wolf could be that fierce. Only a rat could."

* * *

Two weeks had passed since Kayaba's announcement, and Kirito was beginning to feel uneasy. He'd hoped that Klein would have found at least one of the people he was looking for and the tension was grating on him. It was easier knowing that Suguha and Argo were safe, but he was used to Silica's constant messages and checking in on Lisbeth whenever he could excuse it with low durability. The worst though was Asuna, someone he knew would be going on some kind of suicide run sometime in the next two weeks.

He'd hoped to find them all and befriend them in some way so that he could start keeping tabs on them, but that didn't seem like it would happen too soon. It was tempting to ask Argo, but it could ruin everything if he acted too early.

In the meantime he'd just focus on leveling and trying to explore the level's dungeon, which wasn't as simple as it sounded. While the dungeon itself was clearly marked by the rising tower in the distance, the actual entrance was a little more difficult to locate. There was no door on the pillar to allow entrance, rather the dungeon's entrance was somewhere in one of the other dungeons on the floor, leading up beneath and then into the tower.

"Ki-bou, what makes you think that the entrance is down here? During the beta it was over in «Dustman's Cavern», not the «Overgrown Forest». There's not even a basement to this dungeon."

"I heard word that there was a hole in a tree near this dungeon's boss room. That wasn't in the beta test, and I imagine it'll lead to something, though I'm hoping it's the floor's main dungeon."

Argo's brow furrowed. "Where did you hear that?"

Kirito nearly laughed at the look on her face. "You should know better than to try and get me to to reveal a source, Argo. If I let you get ahold of my sources, it'll cost me a lot more to get my information."

"So you say, but you haven't been asking for the party to contribute to that. If you're paying someone for information, it's only fair if we all get to go and pay our fair share."

"I think I'll be fine. It's not something that costs that much," Kirito hedged, playing the role of someone reluctant to give up his source.

"Alright, though I may have to start watching you before I go to deal with clients."

"I'd be surprised if you didn't already watch me. Oh, you wouldn't happen to be dealing with Klein this afternoon, would you?"

Argo looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't think so, but I do have some business in the town he's in. What do you need?"

"Well," Kirito explained as he crawled through the hole in a tree, "I thought it would be a good idea to let him know where the floor dungeon is. The sooner we get people exploring it, the faster we can clear the floor."

Argo shook her head as she followed behind him, Suguha close behind her. "One of these days your information won't be better than mine, and when that happens I hope I'm there to see it."

Kirito manipulated his menu to bring a lamp out of his inventory to light up the tunnel. "I'd rather no one's there when it happens. Mistakes can be costly."

"There's no need to be so serious, Ki-bou. We're just being the first people to enter a floor dungeon since the beta test. It's not like we're doing anything dangerous," Argo said with slightly hidden sarcasm.

Kirito tightened his grip on his sword, "Suguha, watch behind us. Argo, wait until after I launch a sword skill to jump in. The enemies on the first floor of the dungeon won't be too bad, but as we climb higher toward the boss room things are going to get harder. Keep your eyes out for any treasure chests, but don't open them right away," a large, ornate door sat imperiously at the end of the corridor he'd just turned down. "Argo, help me with the door."

The two went ahead to push the door open, putting some strain on their strength stat. It was a bit refreshing to encounter such a basic dungeon entrance- later floors would require keys from other dungeons, or have some kind of puzzle to solve before the door would open.

"I'll let you do the mapping for this, Argo. It'll be a nice bonus to sell, in addition to where the dungeon's found."

Argo seemed surprised. "You're not just going to put this in your guide?"

"I'd rather the information be a little restricted," Kirito admitted, "If everyone knew about it then a lot of players that aren't ready for the dungeon would try to get here. Just... try and keep it to people you think would be ready for it."

Argo nodded, "Undead to your left."

Kirito turned and rushed toward the group of four, launching a «Large Horizontal», an attack with a long cooldown and pause afterwards, but a wide enough effect for him to hit two of the skeletons, striking one on its unreadied arm and the other at a thin point of its spine, causing a critical and killing it instantly. Argo followed up with a non-skill swipe that tore into the weak bone matter, and Suguha engaged the other two without sword skills.

Once he recovered Kirito jumped off toward the one Suguha hadn't focused her attacks on, starting with a stab and then assuming a defensive position as the skeleton retaliated. Skeletons didn't have particularly high stats, they were in fact quite lower than most monsters in the dungeon, but the complicated thing about them was their AI. Unlike most mobs that would stagger for a moment after an attack, so long as it did sufficient damage, a skeleton didn't feel pain, and was thus immune to damage based staggering. It made it quite dangerous to take them on in groups, unless the player had a large enough party or were overleveled.

Fortunately Kirito's party was a mix of both and very little damage was taken. The last of the skeletons was killed by Argo, who attacked from behind while Suguha kept the mob's attention. The three did a once over of the durability of their equipment before moving on, trudging along the cobbled stone floor.

The three wandered for a few hours, more exploring than worried about leveling. By the time they reached the fifth floor, the last floor of the dungeon, they'd found their fair share of treasure chests.

"It's getting late in the day, we should start heading back soon," Kirito advised as he opened a door to a small room. "Argo still needs to go to a few meetings I'd imagine, and we don't want to make her late."

Both Argo and Kirito noticed the disappointed look on Suguha's face. "Enjoying your first floor dungeon?" Argo asked with a slightly teasing tone.

Suguha blushed a little, but nodded. "It's a bit more exciting than Ka-Kirito made it sound."

Kirito rolled his eyes, both at the statement and the near mix-up with his name. "I made it sound as exciting as I could. You'd just already made up your mind when I started telling you about it."

"Well when you go off on tangents describing the coding that goes into everything in the game, you can't exactly blame me for tuning out."

"It's interesting programming," Kirito said defensively.

"You tried to get her interested in Sword Art by telling her about the programming?" Argo asked with disbelief.

"Briefly," Kirito said. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

Argo shook her head. "That's bad, even for you Kirito. A game literally called Sword Art, and you try to convince a kendo practitioner to play without bringing that up?"

"It wasn't quite like that. At that point I'd pretty much given up trying to get her to play any video games, let alone one as advanced as Sword Art. It was more just passing the time. Anyway, if we don't run into too many monsters, we should be able to get to town before the sun sets."

Argo shrugged. "Don't worry about me. I don't have many meetings set up for tonight, and they're all with players that wouldn't mind waiting an extra day if I bring them directions to the floor dungeon and a map that includes the fifth floor instead of just the paths we took to get there."

Kirito scratched at his chin in thought. "I suppose we could stay for another hour or so. I'd still like to at least get through the «Overgrown Forest» before it gets dark. It would be a nightmare getting through there when nighttime mobs start spawning, and the lamp won't be of much use because of all the trees blocking the light. We'd be getting ambushed left and right."

"What about sleeping in one of the safe areas?" Suguha suggested. "It seems a bit of a waste to spend as much time as it took getting here to head back that soon."

Kirito frowned. "They're not the most comfortable, especially not to sleep in. It's all stone in there."

"I brought a pretty thick blanket with me in case it rained and we needed some shelter, and I got another off of an «Imperial Footman» earlier. Between the two of them it would almost be as good as a mattress."

"I have a blanket I brought for the same reason," Argo added. "And the doors to the safe room here are pretty heavy, so we'd notice if someone were to open it, even if they were to find the dungeon."

"My cloak would be enough for me to sleep in the corner," Kirito admitted. "So if you're both okay with it I guess we can stay here, maybe even scout out the boss for a few seconds if we find his room, see if it's the same one from the beta test."

Argo nodded thoughtfully. "It's not a bad idea, other than you sleeping in the corner. If Suguha's talking about the blanket I think she is, there'd be enough room on there for all of us to spread out a little on it."

Kirito opened his mouth to protest but Suguha chimed in before he could speak. "It'll be like camping," Suguha said, a tone of excitement entering her voice.

Argo laughed. "And it'll save us money on rent. Well, if we're staying here to work, we may as well get working. Should we go left or right?"

The rest of the day was spent exploring and mapping the dungeon, spending extra time on the fifth floor. The sheer size of the dungeon prevented them from mapping the entire place, but they were confident they'd gotten at least two thirds of it, though they were less sure of hidden passageways.

The game's clock read 2130 when the three stood outside of a large door, one rivaled only by the entrance to the dungeon. "We'll just look in there for a few moments, then we're out. Even if you get hit once, use a potion. When I tell you to leave, get out of there. Understood?"

Argo and Suguha nodded, willing to cede to his greater knowledge of boss battles. Kirito pushed the door open, allowing the sight of the large and empty room to sink in. "Once I take a few steps in the boss should spawn, along with his minions. Jump in if anything spawns between me and the door." With that, Kirito moved forward.

«Illfang» was quite a sight to see again, the third time Kirito had stared down this particular monster. Jumping down from the ceiling came the several hundred pounds of muscle, bone and fat, along with several smaller red kobolds. With a dash forward Kirito assaulted the «Kobold Sentinel» closest to him. A simple two strike took care of it as Kirito was able to get to it while it was still staggered from its fall, giving his attacks easy access to its club arm and neck.

By the time the Kobold exploded into pixels Kirito had already moved on, jumping into the air to move past the other two minions and land a strike on «Illfang». His momentum allowed for him to sneak past the shield «Illfang» tried to bring up and land a quick strike before pushing off of the Kobold's stomach and reverse direction.

As Kirito skidded across the floor he called back to his party. "Argo, Suguha, pick a Sentinel each and hold it off. I'd like to see how long I can go without getting injured."

The two were quick to engage their enemies, though they were certainly going to take longer to kill their targets than he had. In the meantime «Illfang» seemed to have decided that Kirito alone was his enemy and it took a quick jump to the side to dodge the bone axe that swung toward him.

There were limits to what Kirito could do, limits he'd gotten used to over the last two weeks. He couldn't jump as high as he used to be able to and his earlier strike against the Kobold Lord had only brought one of its massive HP bars down by a few pixels. A sword skill would have done more, but without a shield team at the ready the more powerful skills weren't an option and he'd need either Suguha or Argo to switch with even for the weaker ones. As «Illfang» heaved to lift the axe again Kirito ran behind it, landing a few slashes on its back before retreating.

Kirito ducked under the horizontal swing of the axe as he began to run to his right. Contrary to popular opinion, just because something's large doesn't mean it's slow. That idea was a relic form an age where the «Speed» stat was used to represent «Agility». Running in a straight line the Kobold Lord's height would allow it to catch up to Kirito in moments. «Illfang's» disadvantage wasn't being slow, but having low agility, he couldn't turn as sharply as Kirito.

So Kirito took as sharp of turns as he could, avoiding the Kobold Lord's attacks and sneaking one of his own in when he could. After what seemed like forever, though his clock claimed it had only been three minutes, Kirito had barely shaved down the boss's health by a quarter of a bar, though he'd dodged each attack.

His mental stamina waning Kirito decided to see how risky he could get before his advanced skills were pushed to their limits. Jumping in the air to keep his balance during the maneuver Kirito turned a full one hundred eighty degrees, suddenly running straight at the large mass chasing him. «Illfang» readied its shield to bounce back Kirito's attack, but Kirito slid beneath it, swinging his sword at its unarmored upper thigh as he did so.

The Kobold Lord howled in pain, staggering. Before Kirito could rise and continue his assault a blur jumped over him, landing on the back of the Kobold. «Illfang's» screams of pain intensified, the growl turning into a screech. Kirito scrambled to his feet as the blur from earlier landed next to him, revealing itself to be Argo.

"Thanks for surprising him like that; it gave me the chance to get his eyes." The pair jumped back a ways as Suguha ran in, finished with her own Sentinel, bringing her «Anneal Blade» down in a long arc, leaving a deep wound on the still staggered Kobold's chest.

Suguha backed off to join Kirito and Argo, her eyes lingering on the blood dripping off of Argo's claw weapons. "Its eyes are completely gone," Suguha reported.

Kirito blinked in surprise, then checked the boss's health. Sure enough, next to the top bar that had dropped down to half was a darkened symbol of an eye, indicating blindness.

"We might be able to take that thing down ourselves now," Kirito said in awe, aware that while the boss would still be able to smell and hear them it wouldn't be able to attack with anywhere near the accuracy it had before.

Argo agreed with his assessment, though she was cautious. "We'd still have nine Sentinels to work through, but if we're careful we can time when his health drops to the next bar and spawn kill them."

The three broke into separate corners of the room as the Kobold Lord dropped to its hands and knees like a boar, having stopped screaming from its injuries and moving to a position more suitable to hunting them without eyesight.

"What do you think, Suguha? Should we commit to killing it?" Kirito asked as he strafed clockwise.

Suguha nodded, though her breathing was coming in too short of bursts to allow her to respond verbally. Seeing this caused Kirito to check on Argo, who was showing similar signs of exhaustion.

"Forget it," Kirito called out to the other two. "We'll take care of this some other time, it's been a long day. I'll keep him busy for a little bit, you two get out of here."

Suguha seemed about to protest, but Argo had already moved past «Illfang» and grabbed her arm. Kirito jumped at «Illfang», slicing him along his side as Argo and Suguha made their way to the entrance. When the two passed the threshold Kirito jumped back and grinned.

Boss Rooms in SAO were protected in a way. While other people could join a raid after the raid had begun, it could never exceed the player limit for that boss. Players that entered and then left the room were still counted as part of that cap, and players that left the room were not allowed to re-enter, to prevent people from abusing healing systems.

In addition to not being allowed to reenter, once a player left they were no longer allowed to see what was happening inside of the boss room.

Kirito couldn't stop the grin that came onto his face. "Sorry, but I need to see if I'm still any good like this, and you're the first chance I've gotten to actually to test it."

It took Kirito four seconds to bring another sword into existence, a lesser sword he'd gotten from a loot drop. Unable to equip it as the «Dual Wielding» skill had yet to appear on his skill list, he was still able to grab it. Any damage done by the second sword would be counted as environment damage rather than damage done by him, so it wasn't very useful for fighting common mobs, as he'd gain less Col and experience from using it.

For a situation like this though, where he had no intention of killing his opponent, it was a perfect addition.

«Illfang» seemed to have narrowed down his location by the time the sword had materialized, and Kirito was all too willing to engage him.

At first it was awkward getting used to wielding the two swords again. He'd used this style enough before that he could perform simple skills without the system assist, though they didn't do the extra damage of a skill. Bringing the two swords to bear against «Illfang» was a good refresher course for him, and likely the last time for a while he'd get to practice.

He'd need to wait for Argo to leave, and then he might reveal his abilities to Suguha, and maybe spar against her to keep his skills sharp. Once the «Dual Wielding» skill was actually activated he'd be able to use it in fields at least, though it would still be a good idea to keep it under wraps. Unless he could come up with some kind of fake trigger for it, something ridiculous enough that no one would be able to test to see if it was true.

Kirito allowed himself a full minute of dual wielding before storing the second sword back in his inventory and making his way to the exit. Upon exiting the door closed behind him, as he was the last player that had been in the room.

Also occurring the moment he exited the room was a massive feeling of guilt, brought on by the pale look on Suguha's face and the worried look on Argo's.

"Ah, sorry," Kirito apologized before either could ask. "The boss got between me and the door, so I had to bait him away from it before I could get out." A complete lie, but one that served him well. Revealing he'd stayed behind and not left as soon as he could so that he could play with «Illfang» for a while longer wasn't the best idea.

Despite his actions having worried them, he couldn't deny the warm feeling that their worry for him made him feel.

It did lead to him having a bit more difficulty convincing them to let him sleep in the corner however.

AN: First, apologies for the lateness of the chapter. Everything was going well until I came down with a bit of an illness that left me feeling nauseous every time I coughed. After that came a slew of tests and papers that were due, which really only left me time to write on the side of my notes during a few classes.

Secondly, clarifying some things from this chapter. No, Argo doesn't know the relation between Suguha and Kirito, she just knows that they knew each other before Sword Art. As for Kuradeel's character, it's mentioned a few times in the novels and some character work by the author that Kuradeel didn't start out as the guy we all know and cringe at. At the start of the game, he really just wanted to be a hero, and somewhere along the way he turned into what we met.

Third is me remembering I haven't put an official disclaimer on any of this specifically, so here it is. I neither own the rights to Sword Art Online nor am I making any money from this venture.

Finally, thanks to all those that have followed, favorited and reviewed. You've heard it said before, but there really aren't many better feelings than checking your e-mail and seeing a message from fanfiction. Thanks to you all for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Kirito walked down the steps of the local coliseum with a satisfied and determined expression on his face. A meeting had been called through Argo's information network to discuss a full boss raid. With the boss room's location known things were progressing much faster than before, with this raid happening a full week and half earlier. As a result of this, and the decreased levels of depression and desperation among many of the players due to the quick discovery of the dungeon's boss room, the death count had barely climbed over a thousand.

This wasn't a small number of deaths, and Kirito remembered the depressed look on Argo's face as she told him. Despite the vastness of the number, Kirito couldn't help but secretly be pleased with it, as it was less than half that of the count at this point of events in his previous life.

He found a seat near the back with Suguha, as Argo had volunteered to help lead the discussion. While Suguha listened intently to Diabel's opening speech, something Kirito noted was somewhat less impressive when the man hadn't found the time yet to gather the ingredients for his hair dye, Kirito gazed around the area in a search for any familiar faces. Of the people there, nearly a dozen of them were wearing cloaks that covered their heads, so there was little chance of finding Asuna. Agil's head could be made out from where Kirito sat, as even when sitting down the man was quite a bit taller than everyone around him. Klein and his party could be seen sitting a few rows ahead of Kirito, the man's relaxed composure seeming to infect the people around him.

Kibaou's scripted entrance of jumping off the stands and into the coliseum proper, along with Diabel's tactical progression brought Kirito's attention back to the center of the arena. At the declaration of beta testers abandoning the average player Kirito noticed Suguha's face darkening and he had to place a hand on her shoulder to calm her. Meanwhile, Klein seemed to be about to jump up and protest when Agil calmly stood.

It was a little amusing to Kirito to remember how terrified of being discovered he had been in the past. After spending a few years as a "Beater" it was considerably less troublesome to think about being found as a beta, made all the more easier to deal with considering his current connections.

With Agil's interruption about the guide finished, Diabel seemed to bring everything back into order. The announcement that they should form parties, with no player being under a set level to accommodate the large number of players, a number greater than the forty-eight allowed to participate in a raid. As Kirito gestured for Argo to return to the group a voice interrupted him, and after a moment's hesitation Suguha left to get Argo herself.

"Do you mind if I join your party? I usually play solo, so I'm afraid I don't know anyone here," the brown haired boy asked slightly awkwardly. The innocence of the question did nothing to prevent the shock that ran through Kirito, as well as the moment of fear.

"Is something wrong?" Coper asked.

"Ah, nothing," Kirito lied quickly. "No, that's fine. We need a few extra people anyways." It took a bit of effort to carry on the conversation given his mixed feelings towards the boy. The only time they'd met before they'd gotten along quite well, to the point that Kirito had considered friending him. Had the boy not attempted to kill him before dying himself things would be much simpler. Kirito was saved from having to make small talk with his would-be murderer by another voice.

"Then there should be no problem with myself joining, if you don't mind? I'm glad to see that you made it out of that forest without incident." At that moment, Kirito decided that despite whatever divine intervention he'd received in his favor to travel back in time was exacting its price at that very moment.

"Kuradeel," Kirito greeted stiffly, inclining his head to bow in greeting to the man that had by now discarded his starting leather gear in favor of a shining set of bronze armor. "Yes, I suppose that'll work." Taking a gamble he made eye contact with both Kuradeel and Coper before asking, "I don't suppose either of you have seen a red haired girl about so tall around here, have you? We met up earlier and she's a solo player so I thought I'd invite her to party."

"You mean that chick partying up with Mr. Knight right now? Sorry kid, you missed your chance."

This third voice came from somewhere above Kirito, though before locating it he turned to look at Diabel. Sure enough, there was Asuna with a few locks of hair spilling out of her hood, pushing a few buttons on her menu before waving it away. This action was followed by a smiling Diabel throwing an arm around her shoulder and leading her to the side, probably to introduce her to her new party members.

Kirito felt an odd mix of peace and bile, peace at seeing the woman who was once his wife safe and sound despite his last memory of her being one in which she died, bile at being unable to talk to her.

"She your ex or something? Can't blame you for keeping an eye on her, at least not at your age, but don't forget to stop and look at everyone else too. Aren't many of them, but there are some lookers around, and not all of them are quite as... young."

Kirito finally turned to the person who had pointed out her location, finding a tall man who had apparently found some of the hair dye that was quite rare on this floor, as his spiked hair was a deep blue.

"Ah, sorry," Kirito apologized at his rudeness, knowing that were Suguha there at the moment she would have had a choice elbow for him, as she often did for him nowadays whenever he got lost in thought or she considered his actions rude. "My name's Kirito. And no, she's not. Just... someone I met once."

The man didn't seem entirely convinced but shrugged. "Eh, whatever. I'm Cu, a lancer. I don't suppose you need anyone else in your little group?"

With a last glance towards Asuna Kirito nodded. "We do, actually. Just let me get the rest of my party together and we can go over everyone's build so we can strategize," Kirito hoped he imagined the grimace he saw on the man's face at the word, "and go out for some food. May as well get to know each other."

Kuradeel nodded his agreement to the sentiment, while Cu broke into a grin. "Finally, someone who gets that food, beer and killing go well together. What about you, squirt? You think you can keep up with us?" The blue haired man's gaze was directed to Coper.

The boy gave a small smile. "I can't make any promises, but I'm experienced enough myself."

Argo and Suguha met up with the group outside of a large and bustling restaurant. "So, are these your new friends, Ki-bou? To think I had to blackmail you to join your party, but the moment there's a boss fight you just sign up with anyone that asks."

Kirito frowned as he led the group to an open table. "For all the luck we had when we were scouting him out, «Illfang» isn't an enemy to be taken lightly. It's going to be a lot more difficult to dodge around when that room is full of other players, and we won't always know who he's targeting."

Cu sat forward and looked at Kirito with interest. "So, you're the group that did that scouting raid. Suddenly I feel like I won the lottery with this party. So, did you find anything interesting about that guy?"

Kirito scratched at his chin as he looked upward. "Not too much. He has a different secondary weapon than the beta testers reported, and apparently he can be blinded. Other than that everything else just corroborated what was already known."

Coper spoke up at this. "Blinded? Did you have a poison or something on you?"

Suguha fielded that question. "No, Argo gouged out its eyes with her claws."

The three newcomers stared at the older girl, confusion in their eyes. Kuradeel was the one to finally ask how that had happened.

Argo was slightly embarrassed, probably thinking of the bestial image going through everyone's mind. "Ah, well, it wasn't that much. Kirito had staggered him and I jumped on «Illfang's» back."

"You staggered a boss on your own?" Kuradeel asked, noting the sword on Kirito's back, a weapon ill-suited to staggering, something usually left to axes and hammers.

Suguha allowed a hint of pride to enter her voice as she described the battle in greater detail, her audience listening intently. By the end of it both Kuradeel and Coper seemed suitably impressed, while Cu was grinning wildly.

"Holding a boss off on your own for that long without taking damage? Kid, you're officially my favorite person in this game. After tomorrow you and I are going to have a duel."

"Are you willing to have an audience?" Argo cut in before Kirito could respond.

"S'long as they don't interfere with the fight it's fine with me."

"He'll do it," Argo decided for him.

"Getting back on subject," Kirito began as he pushed his empty bowl of stew to the side, "We should go over everyone's build to begin with. I suppose I'll start off. I use a mix of light and medium armor, so while I can take a few hits or block if I have to I prefer to dodge when I can and rely on faster movement and slower attacks."

"My claws can do quite a bit of damage and have a chance to leave a wound that does damage over time. They're not very good at blocking though, so I have to rely entirely on my speed to dodge," Argo said, having been sitting to Kirito's right.

The group continued around the circle. "Well, my name's Coper. I prefer a short sword and a buckler, and I use medium armor. It leaves me a little slow, but as long as I get my guard up I don't need to worry about the damage from normal mobs."

"Cu. I use light armor exclusively and a lance. I focus entirely on speed and parrying attacks with my lance."

"The name I've chosen for myself is Kuradeel. Each piece of my armor is heavy, and my shield is as well. I'm using an «Anneal Blade» for now, but I hope to find a larger sword at some point. I've become quite adept at blocking."

The group finally rounded on Suguha. "Ah, my name's Suguha. I use a bit more medium armor than Kirito, but I'm not too much slower than him. I'm better at blocking than dodging however."

Kirito looked over the group, considering the stats. "We're fairly balanced then. I'd feel better if we had a second player dedicated to heavy armor, but we're pretty well off. How's everyone in regards to the level limit?"

"Four over," Argo said quickly.

"Two, with just a few more mobs before three." came Coper's response.

"Four, but I need to upgrade my equipment before tomorrow. I prefer to save up and then upgrade everything at once."

"Three, " Kuradeel said succinctly.

Suguha looked around at the group in surprise before responding with her own, "Six, and Kirito's seven over."

"I suppose we'll have to leave the two of you up front then," Kuradeel conceded. "And I could switch in to block some attacks."

"Coper, you and Argo will have to work on getting behind the boss while we keep him distracted, see if you can hit some weak points. And Cu..."

The man in question shook his head. "I'll be everywhere. I'll heckle «Illfang» when I can and make sure those «Kobold Sentinels» are taken care of. I don't like to leave my back to someone I don't know."

Being a man of a very similar attitude Kirito nodded. "Right, we'll leave that to you then. If anything comes our way intercept it if you can, if not at least shout a warning."

The blue haired man rolled his shoulder as he stood up. "I'm off to upgrade my equipment then. The raid heads out tomorrow at eight right?"

"We're meeting half an hour early though so that we can set up a party inventory. Try not to be late."

The man flashed a predatory grin. "This fight? I wouldn't miss it for the world."

The remainder of the group stayed together and chatted for the next half of an hour, though Kirito couldn't bring himself to be too friendly with either Coper or Kuradeel. Eventually Coper excused himself by saying he had business and Kuradeel left to greet a few other players he'd met.

With little reason to stay Kirito, Argo and Suguha began making their way back to the house on the outskirts of town that they'd rented out. Doing a quick «Search» for anyone around them Kirito began a conversation with Argo.

"So, how have things been going so far with Diabel?"

Kirito watched as «The Rat» checked for anyone around herself before responding. "I was able to convince him to let our party participate without having to have everyone's level and equipment checked over. Why did you want me to go through him to set up that meeting though? I'd have thought you'd get that bandit Klein to do it for you."

The thought had occurred to Kirito before. Diabel's command over the first dungeon raid had been, originally, due to his party being the group to find the dungeon boss. Had Kirito wanted, and with the power of Argo's information network, he could have chosen nearly anyone to lead the raid.

"I can't say I like Diabel much, but as you saw today he has the charisma needed to lead the raid. More than that though I want to keep an eye on him." At Argo's questioning look he delivered his premade excuse. "He has a plan to exploit the tensions between Betas and the rest of the players, he's the one that set up that other player to interrupt during the meeting. He's devious, but not particularly cunning so it shouldn't be a problem to expose or discredit him during the boss battle. By putting him up front for all of this it'll make him lose the loyalty of a lot of players that give him their support."

Argo searched his face for any trace of deception, then shook her head with a sigh. "I suppose I should just consider myself lucky that you didn't decide to sell all of your information. None of the information dealers would be able to keep up with you then."

Kirito shrugged. "I only have the cooperation of my sources for a while, so you'll have better information eventually."

"Ki-bou's acting so mysterious," Argo teased. "What about you, Suguha, has he told you anything about all of this?"

Suguha shook her head. "No, it got brought up a few days ago after you left for the evening, but he told me it was a secret until I could solve what's wrong with his form."

Argo tilted her head. "His form?"

"We had a spar a while ago," Suguha began, and Kirito mentally congratulated her for remembering to avoid mentioning the other world directly, "And the form he was using during it was all messed up, nothing at all like the one we both learned. And there was something... weird about it. He told me if I can figure out what's missing from it, then he'll start letting me in on some secrets."

"And you didn't make this deal with me?" Argo asked with a degree of indignation.

Kirito met the tone with indifference. "You're not a swordsman Argo, and you'd be more likely to just find a kendo expert and hire them to analyze me. Besides, you'll probably work out my sources anyway, though I won't make it easy on you."

Argo nodded in assent. "Suguha, if I were to hire you someone to solve this for you, would you tell me what's going on?"

"Ah, I'm pretty sure he'd know if you did something like that."

"I do have a seeking skill higher than even yours, Argo."

"Hmph. Well, we'll see how long you can keep your secrets from me now that I've been challenged," Argo declared as she opened the door to their rented house and dashed up the stairs.

Kirito sighed. "And now she's going to be going through all of her contacts to try and find something."

Suguha shrugged as she walked into the house herself, "I think she probably just wanted to get into the bath first."

"Probably," Kirito agreed. "But she'll probably stay in there until she's gone through her list a few times and decided on who to contact."

"But, that could take an hour!" Suguha complained.

"It probably will. And I rather hope she gets a cold from it as well."

The two settled down on a pair of armchairs upstairs, the door to the bathroom closed and confirming Suguha's suspicions. Silence prevailed for a few minutes before Kirito sighed and stretched, prompting Suguha to speak up.

"Onii- I mean, Kirito, when are we going to have enough money to buy a house of our own?"

Kirito considered for a moment. "Well, we've been setting aside quite a bit recently, no better armor except through upgrading is available on the first floor. Once Argo leaves the party we should be able to level a bit faster, though without her double checking for treasure chests with her skills we'll probably lose out on some gold. The most important thing though is waiting until we find a house that we want."

"I hope we find one soon," Suguha said wistfully. "It'll be nice to have somewhere we can actually go home to instead of moving around every few days."

"That would be nice," Kirito agreed. "Somewhere with a fence, so that people we're not friended with can't get in. A nice lawn to sleep out on."

Suguha shook her head. "How? We're always running from one dungeon to another. There won't be time for that much relaxing."

"Is that how it seems? No, that's just because we're still early enough into things that taking a break would leave us behind where we need to be. Once we get our pace set we can take some breaks."

"That... sounds a bit more like the you I remember. As soon as you finished school you'd run upstairs and start messing with whatever computer you'd scavenged from a yard sale."

Kirito scratched his chin in thought. "I used to do that all of the time, didn't I?"

"For the last few years," Suguha agreed. "Before then you used to, well, spend more time with all of us, even grandfather."

"Well, I don't think you can particularly blame be for avoiding him. After the whole kendo incident it was hard enough to be in the same room as him."

"He could be a little harsh at times," Suguha said a little defensively, "But his heart was in the right place. He just wanted someone to carry on the family tradition."

'I probably wasn't the best person for him to turn to then,' Kirito thought a little bitterly before shaking off the feeling. "You know," Kirito began in an attempt to lighten the mood. "I might have to search around for any school teachers soon."

"...Why?" Suguha asked, a slight look of dread creeping onto her face.

"Well, we don't quite have the time to enroll you fully, but I suppose they could check up on your progress every now and then. I wasn't the best student, admittedly, but I'm sure with a bit of help from some other players we could continue your education. Although I suppose it might be a little difficult to find one given how secretive people tend to be about their other lives."

"...You're joking right?"

"About finding you a teacher, yes. I would like to try and keep your education going as much as I can though. At least enough to get you through your exams to get into high school. I plan to get us out of this game as quickly as I can."

"What about you then?"

"Me? Well, I can't exactly teach myself anything and I doubt Kayaba's left a bunch of textbooks in the game. Quite honestly just being in here is probably giving me more preparation for my career than anything else could."

"Oh? Ki-bou plans on being a game designer?"

Suguha jumped a little at the voice, while Kirito remained motionless. "I didn't hear you open the door."

"Ohoho, what makes you think I ever closed the door? Maybe I felt like having some company~?"

"The door was closed because we didn't hear you filling the tub earlier," Kirito shot down with conviction.

"You're always killing my fun," Argo complained good-naturedly. "Sometimes I wonder why I even party with you."

"Oh, probably because you're too lazy to level on your own. That or you're terrified of fighting without bodyguards," Kirito bantered, the teasing tone in his voice keeping Argo from taking him seriously.

"If that were the case I would have found myself a better bodyguard than you. Suguha could stay though, she seems reliable enough."

"I'm hurt, I really am," Kirito said. "Suguha, make sure you get every single col you can when she hires you. Argo's the type that'll claim you'll be paid on commission then only give you the gold of monsters you kill personally."

"Bah, it was Ryu's own fault that he didn't read the fine print before signing up. Suguha, don't listen to this old man, working for me would be a life of... Suguha?" Argo blinked, looking around the room.

Kirito was equally surprised. "She must have slipped into the bathroom while we were arguing. That's, well, I'm not sure whether to be impressed in her or depressed that the two players with the highest tracking skills in the game couldn't even tell when the only other person in the room left."

"The highest tracking skill in the game, hm? And what makes you so sure of that?"

"My sources haven't told me about anyone having a higher skill than either of us," Kirito bluffed. He took a moment to consider how odd it was that he could fall into this persona so quickly, though it had proven useful whenever he slipped up. He knew that the two of them had been two of if not the first people to max the tracking skill their first playthrough, but whether or not they currently did was an unknown factor.

Argo sighed. "That matches what I've found too. You really know how to make an information dealer feel like it's time to retire, Ki-bou."

"Why would you want to retire? From what I can tell you're the most profitable information dealer in the game."

"Ki-bou, somehow you've managed to destroy my professional pride. I still remember the beta test, and the first time you came to buy information from me, on hands and knees to try and get me to lower my prices."

"That's not how I remember it," Kirito corrected. "I seem to remember finding you surrounded by some mobs you'd aggro'd without meaning to and having to run in before your HP dropped."

"That's when we first met, not the first time you bought information from me."

"It was five minutes later that I bought the information! And I was asking for a discount because I'd just saved you from losing all your items!"

"And yet I still remember you being on your hands and knees, that certainly wasn't imagined."

"I was exhausted, there were a dozen enemies the same level of us and I'd had to jump in front of a few hits going for you."

"So you don't deny you were on your hands and knees because of me then? Ki-bou, I'm flattered."

Kirito threw his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright, you win. I was so taken away that I couldn't help myself. You really never give up, do you?"

"Not until I've won, no I don't," Argo replied. "Don't you remember why I was fighting all of those golems when you showed up?"

"Not entirely, no. It was quite a while ago," Kirito explained.

"Bah, how do you keep up that network with a memory like that? There was a bug in the money transfer system and one of the other beta testers was exploiting it to cheat me out of some information. After he got what he wanted he triggered all of those spawns down the hall he was in, thinking I wouldn't follow after him."

"And you charged straight in," Kirito continued the story, his memory having been sparked. "Right. And then you talked me into chasing him with you, offered me a reward for helping out."

"It wasn't that hard to do, you were a bit of a sellsword back then. Nowadays it seems like I'd have to explain everything to you. You fit into the role I gave you pretty well too."

"It wasn't exactly a complicated script. We chased him down a bit further in the dungeon, then you had me act like I'd been your bodyguard the whole time. Really just had me stand there and look like a grunt. Even had me switch out my sword for a greatsword and swing it around a few times."

"Eh, intimidation tactics work perfectly when if you use them right. You just have to be careful not to push too hard, or they might faint on you before you get what you want."

"I think the limit should be a little before that. I seem to remember some odd smells coming from him by the time you started describing what you were going to do with your claws. To be honest I almost ran out of there myself at that point. Him caving and giving you what you wanted was as much a relief to me as it was him."

Argo shrugged heedlessly. "You got your money in the end, and a slight discount on some information. What more could you have wanted?"

"There are some things that, when you lose them, you can't get back," Kirito responded with a fake shudder. "We partied a few times after that, didn't we?"

"Out of circumstance, yes," Argo confirmed. "A few raids, and I hired you a couple of times when I was following up on a lead and needed some backup. You cost a bit more than other people on the market, but I could count on you to actually keep an eye out for things. Most of the sellswords on the market would just wait for a battle to start, you could actually keep an eye out for traps."

"I cost more because I wasn't on the market," Kirito defended. "I was a solo player, not a mercenary. Working with you just happened to coincide with my own thoughts."

"Oh, just playing the hero then were you?"

"I wouldn't go that far. I wasn't exactly role playing for that. I was just helping someone who'd helped me out. Besides, I didn't get along with many of the other beta testers."

Argo blinked in surprise. "Oh. So, when you friended me back then..."

"You were the only person on the list at the point. Heck, most of the time I got in contact with other people I knew through you."

It may have been a trick of the dimming candlelight, but Kirito could have sworn Argo's face was tinted red. "Ah, well, it's getting a bit late. I think I'll, uh, head to bed now. Good night, Kirito. Let's make sure we kill «Illfang» tomorrow, okay?"

* * *

Kirito watched with his party near the back of the procession of sixty as Diabel motioned for everyone to stop. "Everyone, on the other side of this door is «Illfang the Kobold Lord». He has a high attack stat, but also wields a shield for most of the fight. He's never been shown to use any shield skills, but be on guard for them just in case. He's a humanoid type and all of his weak spots follow those conventions. Our scouting raids have shown that he has four bars of health, and each one is accompanied by three «Kobold Sentinels» that will engage whoever attacks them. Party H has been designated to keep them off of the rest of us, so we're counting on you to land a few hits before they can reach us.

"The rest of you will be joining in the main assault. We'll rotate on and off, two parties attacking at a time. Once his health reaches its critical point he's going to switch weapons to a nodachi he has at his side. He'll be using katana type skills from then on, which none of you will have fought before. Review your guide book for the known katana skills, and make sure that you keep your health up throughout the battle, don't be stingy with health potions. I'll be calling for your party by its leader, so make sure you know which party you're in. Party A is being led by myself, Diabel. B will be led by Vishno. C is led by Argo. D will be led by Degr, E by Lorna, F by Klein, G by Benedict and H by Kibaou.

"The other two parties here will be waiting outside of the boss room and making sure that the entrance here is free of any mobs. We need each of you to stay in for as long as you can, but if you run out of potions or you're in too much danger to use one safely, leave the boss fight. You'll be unable to return and you won't get any of the drops, but it's certainly better than dying.

"Finally, I'd just like to say... That this is just the first battle we'll be fighting. After this floor are ninety nine more bosses and each one is going to be more difficult than the last. Right now each and every one of you are some of the strongest players in this world. Each and every one of you are the people who will lead the rest of the players to victory. Whatever happens today, it's just the first step. What matters is what happens tomorrow, and what's going to determine that is each and every one of you. So I want you all to survive, and defeat the rest of this game alongside me. Now who's ready to kill a boss?!"

Amidst the cheering that followed Diabel's short speech Kirito noticed Argo move to his side. "I see what you meant about him being charismatic. He's picked up more than a few supporters in the last few minutes, a nice mix of praise and fear mongering."

"He's better than I remembered," Kirito admitted. "It's actually making me second guess revealing him. This is just the kind of motivation we need right now, an approach to minimalize losses but keeping us going. My only problem with it is that it may keep us from moving forward as fast as we can, and that I'm not sure I can trust him to keep things balanced."

Argo nodded. "If I were in your position, I'd just let things play out. Besides, he doesn't have quite as much support as you may think. If you look at the other party leaders, you'll find they're nearly as hesitant about this as you are. They'll have quite a bit of control over who their party members choose to follow. And, if it eases your conscious, unilateral decisions wouldn't be good at the moment. He wouldn't be able to hold everything together until the hundredth floor, and when he lost control there'd be a lot of people competing to take his place. And he seems like the type that would try and make the information I sell into a public service."

"Hey, boss!" The blue haired Cu called out as he made his way over to Kirito while the raid group moved into the boss room. "What's up with Argo being group leader? I thought you were the head of this show."

As the rest of Kirito's party formed up around him he explained, "Argo's well known by most of the players, and it's a good chance for her to boost her reputation. I'm more combat oriented, and I have enough on my plate without having to worry about blackmailing people into doing things."

The group nodded their understanding. "I suppose I have something to in addition to what Diabel was saying earlier. Don't do anything stupid. «Illfang» may be fairly stupid, but a good strong strike from him can be deadly. Keep light on your toes, but always be ready to block as well. For this fight, we're all party members, we all look after each other. I'm going to make sure that we all make it out of this alive." Kirito swallowed his stress for a moment, making eye contact with both Kuradeel and Coper. "When we're done with this, let's celebrate at a second floor pub. Given how much you three drank yesterday, I'm not buying."

Coper gave a small smile while Cu nearly beamed. Kuradeel's response was a bit more reserved. "Not one of us drank more than we were able to handle."

"Ah, the kid knows that. He ain't tellin' us off, he's just bein' a man that has his priorities. Can't pay to keep yourself happy if you're always helping out others. Lighten up a little, big guy. He's saying that after we're done here we're all gonna have a little party."

Kuradeel seemed mollified, though a little chagrined still at the perceived attack on his character. "Alright, we'll worry about all that later. We're up now," Kirito said, glad for the interruption that Diabel's call provided him.

Kirito allowed himself to fall behind Suguha slightly as the group ran towards «Illfang», giving him the spacing required to follow up after her sword skill and continue the stagger. While Kirito, Kuradeel and Suguha attempted to put pressure on the boss from its front, Argo and Coper moved around it to attack from behind.

The two parties before theirs had managed to bring the boss' health down by half of one of its bars, so Kirito set finishing the bar off as the goal to reach before he and group D, whose members arrived a few barrages later, retreated. Thoughts of strategy were wiped from his mind as he ducked under a swing from the bone axe.

A few heavy strikes from Kuradeel were enough to make «Illfang» attempt to jump back and gather himself, a move thwarted when Cu began his own assault on the beast, having been content to watch from the side and learn the speed of his enemy. The man was obviously a skilled lance user, able to maintain a fast attack and retreat pattern with the weapon.

"Argo, Coper, go for his legs on your next pass. Kuradeel, give Cu an opening to fall back for a bit," Kirito called out calmly, watching the last of the round of «Sentinels» disappear. "Vishno, we'll try and get him to focus on us for now, if your axe users could be ready with some long cooldown attacks though we should be able to do some good damage."

The man complied and ordered his two axemen to prepare themselves and the battle quickly fell into a system of repetition. Before long Argo's name was called out by Diabel to pull back and Kirito made his way over to Klein's group.

"I see you picked up another player," Kirito noted idly as he approached, catching the chunk of bread that Klein threw to him and biting into it gratefully.

"Eh, just someone who needed a party for the raid. He's been fitting in with us all pretty well though, so we might make it a semi-permanent position for him. You're the one picking players up left and right. Any tips from your experience on this guy?"

"He swings his axe in a full arc from his body to let the weapon get up to speed. You'll have a lot easier time blocking it if you can get in close, but that's when you have to look out for the shield. He'll take a potshot at you if he can."

"It appears that he has the ability to fake a stagger as well," Kuradeel added from Kirito's left. "A few times he drew back as if he had been staggered, then launched an immediate attack. It caught a few players by surprise, and the attack did significant damage."

The two groups fell into silence after that, then separated once Klein's party was called and Kirito found himself focusing more intently on the battle. Most of the players had taken a few strong hits, but no one's health had dropped to the red while Kirito was watching. Kibaou's group was dealing with the other mobs quickly and quietly, forcing each Kobold to engage them without hassling the other players.

It was odd having this much time to rest during a boss fight, Kirito mused, but there wasn't much that could be done to help it. The raid had been organized too hastily to have a set system of switches on the raid level. Without the order that, loathe he was to admit it, Heathcliff had brought to the raids and the solidarity provided by the guilds battles simply couldn't be as efficient as he was used to. Perhaps a more realistic limiter at the time however was the simple size of «Illfang». While certainly large compared to the players, «Illfang» wasn't nearly big enough for large numbers of players to attack simultaneously.

One benefit of the slower fighting though was that it gave Kirito a chance to keep an eye on Asuna, even if he did have to do it surreptitiously. The woman, well, girl at the moment, that had once been his wife. It was a confusing set of circumstances, and one that Kirito was giving a wide berth at the moment, hoping that they would work themselves out. As his eyes tracked the dull brown of the girl's cloak, he couldn't help but selfishly wish for a moment that her switch partner would falter for a moment, giving him an excuse to jump in himself, which would give him reason for some contact with the girl afterwards as well.

The desire only lasted for that moment though before Kirito returned to his usual self, a critical gaze watching her swordsmanship. It was incredibly unrefined to his eye, though that may have been a slightly biased opinion as he'd seen what her style would develop into. That, and it was somewhat unfair to compare it to either his own or Suguha's level of swordsmanship, as both had received some proper training. Comparatively, it was about on par with Kuradeel.

Kirito's group only had the chance to fight one more time before Diabel called all other players off and «Illfang» threw away his axe and shield. While the vast majority of the players obeyed out of confusion at the strange order Kirito tensed himself and prepared to jump in. Diabel was a skilled swordfighter, but recognizing katana skills had a steep learning curve.

Sure enough Diabel's face grew panicked as he struggled to follow the quick and seemingly random movements of «Illfang» as he jumped around the around the room. As the boss began its final leap towards Diabel Kirito sprang into action, intent on launching a «Cross» technique to disrupt the kobold's skill.

Before he could begin the skill however a shape running towards «Illfang» caught his eye. The light of a sword skill shone from the figure's short sword and began a «Star» attack.

"Idiot!" Kirito exclaimed. Fortunately Kirito's legs were still propelling him forward as his brain processed the sudden events. Coper, who must have broken away from Kirito's party at some point, was using a high damage sword skill against the boss' back. His own weapon forgotten, Kirito rushed forward as he watched Coper's blade land the first, the second, the third swings against the Kobold Lord's undefended back...

The fourth and fifth cuts never landed, as «Illfang» changed direction midair, slamming a large and muscled fist into Coper's body. Diabel, saved from the strong skill that had killed him in a previous life, was not spared from the meaty tail the crashed into him, its sheer momentum sending him flying across the room and slamming into a pillar. Halting itself suddenly «Illfang» landed on the ground, then pounced at the stunned and injured Coper, its nodachi swinging in a decapitating arc.

Time seemed to act in complete opposition to all logic as Kirito leaped through the air. His mind seemed to treat the oversized sword that Kirito had just jumped in front of as an impossible fast object, one that now that he'd put himself in the path of could not be avoided by any means. In contrast his eyes seemed to want to slow the scene down, tracking each centimeter of the oncoming blade.

The first strike of the skill was powerful and Kirito was unable to bring his sword up in defense, panicked as he was to rescue Coper. The attack that would have been at head height for Coper caught Kirito along the torso, rapidly depleting his hit points. Somewhere in the moment, as «Illfang» changed his momentum and launched a second strike at Kirito, he found himself regretting both the end of his life and his inability to protect those he'd come back to protect.

Time reverted to its usual flow as a clang of metal heralded the arrival of the hulking mass now standing before him, the bronze metal the man wore gleaming in the room's dim light. "This boy is a member of my party," a deep and strained voice spat out from the figure. "And I will not allow him to die!"

His body acting on instinct Kirito grabbed Coper's body and pulled it away as he got out of the range of «Illfang». Shock and amazement flowed through his body as he watched Kuradeel stand tall, his shield pushed against the vertical swipe the boss had attempted. His eyes were rooted to the scene as he pulled out a pair of health potions for himself and the barely conscious Coper.

Launching himself over the Kobold Lord's head was Cu, his lance stabbing multiple times in the space of the one jump, each strike pulling away a few pixels from the weakened boss' health. Argo darted towards the beast as well, landing a few hits before the Kobold Lord disengaged from his contest of strength with Kuradeel.

It did the Kobold Lord little good however as a mere moment later a large axe staggered him, courtesy of the man Kirito recognized as Agil. A few other players joined in the assault, and after he overcame some of the shock Kirito himself jumped in and landed a few hits.

Among the conversation that occurred between the various members of the raid group as they reminisced over the battle, one player in particular stood out during this renewed assault. Not because of any audacity in strategy or odd fighting style, but from the persistence with which they pressed the attack against «Illfang». It eventually became known that the young girl hounding every action of the boss was named Suguha, and had been a long time party member of the boy that had nearly died.

At the moment however, Kirito felt he was probably the only one noticing his cousin's repeated attacks, the shadow of focus rolling off of her and her face filled with righteous anger.

The end of the fight was somewhat of an anticlimax given the earlier events. A mess of players were engaging the boss when it burst into pixels, a few players from each of the parties launching their attacks, and several sword skills that had already been activated cleaving through the empty air for a while afterwards.

As the cheers roared and saturated the boss' lair Kirito made a quick head count of the players in the room, relief flooding through him as he reached forty eight with Diabel being helped to his feet by Kibaou, an embarrassed smile on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck, likely subconsciously suspecting pain from his earlier collision.

Kirito watched as the man began to clear his throat, signaling the start of a speech. Not willing to give him a chance to gain more followers Kirito called out to the group in the silence that Diabel's noises had made.

"If no one minds, I think we should save most of the post-battle talk for a pub on the second floor if we can find one. There's no point in wasting time in this damp place when we could be enjoying some warm food."

"Motion seconded," Argo's voice called out from somewhere in the crowd, and Kirito made a mental note that he owed her a favor for the timely and subtle assistance.

"Sounds like a plan," Klein chimed in. "That guide mentioned a few things about the second floor, and apparently the main town has some of the best meat pies that have been encountered in the game. I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been living off of bread and water the last few days, and something with a little more substance is something I'd like as soon as possible."

Kirito was pleased to see Diabel's face twitch a little at the interruption, realizing he'd lost his prime opportunity to rally the players, and that after they'd calmed down somewhat from the victory they'd be less likely to listen to him. Nonetheless, the man attempted to re-exert some level of control over the situation. "Well, if that's everyone's plan make sure you heal up before you head out. The town on the second floor is a bit of a walk from the dungeon's exit if the guide we have is accurate and there will be mobs."

* * *

The vast majority of the players had separated into their own smaller groups by the time they reached main town of the second floor, and from there they ended up going to different restaurants and pubs. Coper, Kirito noticed, had disbanded from the party immediately after they entered the second floor. It was a bit of a shame too, Kirito hadn't decided whether to give Coper the benefit of the doubt or tell him off yet and now the chance to do either was lost to him.

It did not, however, prevent him from venting his frustrations about the situation when the remainder of his party arrived at a pub alongside Klein and his lot. The quality of the food did cause him to forget to do so however, at least until Klein brought the subject up.

"So, what was with that Diabel guy calling all of us off the attack anyway? Seems like a stupid thing to do considering everything that was going on at the time."

"Eh, the guy probably just wanted to have a good fight from it all. Nothing like facing something that's supposed to outclass you, holding your own against it and then winning all by yourself. Kid probably just overestimated his limits," Cu claimed while Kirito chewed and swallowed his pie.

"Diabel's not quite that, uh, noble," Kirito said, catching himself from using the term bloodthirsty. "He was after two things from that stunt of his. First, he wanted to cement his image as the person who led the first raid, make himself an image that other people want to look up to. Then use that so he can make sure he's always on top of the game.

"The second reason is a bit more immediate," Kirito said as he evaluated his company. Klein and his party already knew he was a beta tester, but Cu and Kuradeel...A few more players entering the restaurant made up Kirito's mind. "There was a mention of something called a Last Attack Bonus in the guide for whoever finishes off certain bosses, and that every floor boss during the beta test had a Last Attack Bonus. Supposedly, the bonus item is better than any normal items players will be able to get for at least a few floors later."

"I can see how that would be tempting," Klein admitted as he scratched at the stubble growing on his chin. "But to risk your life for it? That seems a little extreme."

"He was probably confident that he could handle himself," Argo interjected. "Before «Illfang» switched to katana skills most of his attacks were predictable and telegraphed."

"I'd had a feeling he might try something like this," Kirito said, making sure to keep his voice down. "And when he realized the trouble he was in I could see him start to freeze up. There's no way he'd have been able to counter «Illfang» when he was like that."

"And that's when you ran in," Klein continued, recreating the event. "But that other guy got there first."

"Coper," Kirito confirmed, his annoyance towards the youth that had disappeared without so much as a goodbye growing. "He was a solo that joined my party for the fight. He tried using a skill that would do a lot of damage, probably trying to get the Last Attack Bonus himself, but «Illfang» was too quick to notice him. From what I could see he lost nearly a quarter of his health from the punch alone."

Kirito swallowed as he recalled the next few pieces of events, then stood from his seat. "Kuradeel," he addressed, careful to keep his tone formal, "I apologize for how I've treated you since we met. It's been rude of me." Kirito gave a deep bow to the man. "Thank you for saving my life. The hit that «Illfang» was about to land would have been fatal. I'm in your debt."

Kuradeel accepted the statement with a nod. "If I ever require your assistance I won't be afraid to ask. However, was that not what we agreed to do when we partied with you? Rather than thank just myself, I believe your gratitude should be to all at this table. As our gratitude is to you for saving Coper."

Kirito took his seat again after giving a smaller bow to the group as a whole. "Thank you all for your help. I... there's a lot of things that I still have to do."

"Yeah, touchies and feelies all around," Cu said. "What really matters though is when you and I are going to have our duel. Some of those things you did during that boss fight were impressive, and you were able to get out of the way of attacks before I could even tell an attack was coming. I ain't got the time for a while, gotta check to see if this floor has any bro- any uh, stores that the first floor didn't have. That and I'd like to see if I can close the gap between our levels a bit before then."

"Whenever you're ready for it just get in contact with Argo then. She'll know where to find me, even if I'm in an area that restricts messages. I have to say though, I won't make it easy for you to get closer to my level."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Hey, what's all this?" Klein questioned. "If we're having some kind of battle between these two I want to place some money on Kirito before it happens."

Kirito watched as Argo tried to stifle a smile growing on her face. "Klein, just make sure you get good odds on anything. And make sure you go over all of the details before you sign a deal with the devil. That said, the fact that Suguha hasn't said a word since we got here tells me that it's been a long day, and it's about time for us to go find a place to spend the night. Cu, Kuradeel, we'll see you some other time. Klein and friends, try not to get thrown out of here like the last place we ate at."

As Kirito rose Argo and Suguha followed suit, Argo still smiling at the prospect of riches from running a gambling ring and Suguha seemingly torn between being grateful to Kirito for letting her get some rest, upset at Kirito because he thought she needed rest and amused at Klein's protests about Kirito's parting shot.

Leading his cousin and his friend through the new town in search of a second floor to rent, Kirito couldn't stop himself from letting the troubles of the day melt away. It had been trying and tense at times, certainly, his temporary party members had been... frightening, and he hadn't made any progress in renewing contact with Asuna, but everyone had lived.

"Kirito?" Suguha asked, her voice somewhere between tired and curious. "That Last Attack Bonus, would it have been labeled as that on the loot screen?"

"Yes," Kirito confirmed.

"Right, that makes sense. Um, Argo? How much would one of those be worth?"

"It depends on what the actual stats of the item are, but there are probably players out there that would pay every col they have."

Suguha nodded thoughtfully. "Alright. So, Kirito. I already have the cloak equipment slot filled with this rare drop from before, and it's fairly comfortable. So, how much extra col are you willing to set aside for the house in trade for the Last Attack Bonus item «Coat of Midnight»?"

AN: And there goes chapter three. I'm kind of surprised with how the chapter ended up, honestly. I'd had a good two more scenes planned out for this chapter, but the way everything worked out this seemed like a good place to stop. On the plus side, those two scenes should be relatively quick to write up.

This chapter had a few more characters being introduced and developed, so I suppose I should explain some stuff that won't quite click with people who watched the anime only. Coper is a person Kirito originally met while he was doing the sidequest to get the Anneal Blade. Coper offered to work together to find two, Kirito eventually agreed, Kirito found one, was going to stay around to help Coper find another, Coper triggered a mass monster spawn with the intent to hide and let the monsters kill Kirito, then take the quest item from Kirito's corpse. As it turns out, the hide skill didn't work on these particular mobs, Coper died a horrible death and Kirito escaped. Reasoning for him being around in this? Without Kirito there at the time, he ended up just finding an ovule when no one else was around.

As for Diabel, that one's a bit tricky. So, the anime makes him out as a pretty nice guy who just wanted the best for everyone. Novel had him doing a few underhanded things to be able to Last Attack, and seemed to have something in mind for the other beta testers seeing as he was using Kibaou as a patsy for a lot of things without letting Kibaou know he was a beta tester. Oh, and as an aside, the original reason Kirito went ahead and enacted his beater persona was a mix between the anime version and looking out for Argo, a known beta tester whose name was on all the guidebooks and had ended up supplying the old information on Illfang. If Kirito hadn't set himself up as a Beater, then Argo would have been target number one.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who's read, followed, favorited reviewed!


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